The Outsiders: The Gold Girls
by SunsetRoseWriter
Summary: "We're tired of being pushed around, it's time to take a stand!" Rainbow and her six sisters live a happy life, but what happens when the world seems to be going against them?
1. The Girls

**Hello, and welcome to my story "The Gold Girls", I'm very excited to write and share this story. Now just a quick heads up, if you haven't read "The Outsiders" you should before you read this so you know what's going on. But now, here it is, happy reading :)**

"Have a nice day." the woman behind the counter calls after me as I head toward the exit.

"Thanks, you too." I call over my shoulder, stepping out into the cool breeze.

I head down the sidewalk, stuffing my new book into my jacket, the sun's just about to start setting, I better head home before Pepper gets worried.

My name is Rainbow, Rainbow Swan, no it's not my real name, well, my last name is. I've gone by Rainbow ever since I was about four years old, I occasionally forget my real name, only Pepper, Tom and Rew know my real name.

I pass by the window of a shop and look at my reflection as I pass. I'm barely fourteen years old, but a little tall for my age. I have long blonde hair that's wavy and slightly messy. My eyes are unusual, they're almond shaped and green, but they also have bits of brown, gold, and blue, but when I cry they turn to limes. I have a slight hourglass figure and soft facial features.

I'm the youngest in my gang, and one of the pets, I'm everyone's kid sister.

I look both ways before I rush across the street to the other sidewalk and continue my way back home.

My sisters and I aren't Greasers, (well, some of us are) but we're not Socs either, we're middle class, when it comes to money that is. But when it comes to our personalities, we're definitely more Greaser.

I personally don't categorize as more Soc or more Greaser. I love the outdoors, books, art, and peace. I'm definitely more flower child than anything.

There's a sound from behind me, I glance in another window of a shop and see a red Stingray car following me, my eyes widen, I know who owns that car.

No, wait, maybe it isn't her, lots of Socs have Stingrays.

But that thought doesn't comfort me because of what I'm wearing. I'm not dressed in my usual in between Grease and Soc look, today I look full on Grease.

I'm wearing Rew's old brown leather jacket, some cut off jean shorts and a pair of ankle boots and I haven't taken my shower yet, so my hair looks oily...or greasy!

So even if it isn't her, I can still get jumped.

I've been jumped once before, it was a very unpleasant experience and I don't want it to happen again.

I pick up my pace, but so does the Stingray.

My teeth grind into my bottom lip and my breathing picks up.

Don't look back, don't run, don't look back, don't run, don't run, don't run, don't-

OH FORGET IT!

I take off down the sidewalk, my feet hammering into the concrete, I'm a fast runner. I rush around a corner and keep running until I'm under a tree that's between two buildings.

"Oh Glory!" I groan, there's no where to go! It's a dead end!

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" I say, looking around, I don't see the Stingray, but then again, some Socs drive slowly in order to look intimidating.

And boy howdy does it work.

There's a tap on my head and I scream and look up into the tree, brownish hazel eyes stare back.

"Tom! Oh thank god!" I say, grinning.

"Don't thank God yet, get yer butt in this tree!" She offers me her hand and helps me climb into the tree, I struggle to get up, I may have strong legs, but I haven't climbed a tree in years.

I sit on a sturdy limb and look through the leaves. I see the Stingray pass by, I was right, it is Brea Chase.

Brea Chase is...my nemesis if you will, we've hated each other ever since we first met. She's about sixteen years old with dark red hair that she dyes constantly, dark brown eyes that just scream "I'm a bitch!", and pale skin with one too many freckles on her face.

I breathe a sigh of relief and rub my eyes, which I realize are wet "Thanks Tom, I owe you."

Tom leans back on a branch, "Anytime kiddo."

Tom's real name is April, we call her Tom because it's short for Tomboy, which she is. She's the fifth oldest in our gang, seventeen-years-old. She has rusty-brownish hair that's cut very short in the back with thick shaggy bangs in front, brownish hazel eyes and pale skin.

Tom is a naturally pretty girl, slim face, pretty slightly turned up eyes, and a nice curvy build. But she doesn't really doll herself up like the rest of us: she hates wearing dresses or skirts, hates wearing make-up and nail polish, and cuts her nail very short. Her style is pretty much just jeans, a t-shirt or hooded sweatshirt and tennis shoes or boots and that's it.

And she's _amazing_ at sports! She's very slim and toned because of how many sports she plays!

A take in a shaky breath and let it out, Tom looks at me, "Easy Kiddo, you're alright, they're gone."

"I know." I say. I've gotten jumpier ever since I was jumped, no, I'm not really targeted by the Socs, but I'm targeted by Brea Chase quite often.

"Well, thanks again Tom, I'd better get going." I say suddenly, Pepper's going to get worried.

"What's the rush? You just got here." Tom asks, "C'mon, you haven't been in a tree in ages, let's chill." She pulls out a lighter and a cigarette from her jeans pocket.

"Tom!" I exclaim, "Don't smoke up here! You'll catch the whole tree on fire!"

"Relax! I've smoked in trees before, I know how to prevent a forest fire." She chuckles and takes a puff of the death stick.

This is Tom for you, she's very relaxed and easy going, and she's not afraid to be herself and occasionally lets her "freak flag" fly.

I pull a piece of gum from my pocket and pop it in my mouth, putting the wrapper back in my pocket. I don't smoke or drink alcohol, because I don't want to die anytime soon.

"So Rainbow," Tom says suddenly, "What'd you do make Miss Drama so mad?"

I roll my eyes and blow a bubble with my gum before popping it with my teeth, "Well, while we were in English-"

I'm cut off by Tom laughing and choking on her cigarette smoke, "Oh-oh-oh * **cough cough** * oh no! What did she do?"

I love English, I absolutely love it, I love literature and art! Reading, writing, and drawing are my life! So mess up on something obvious or insult it, you're in trouble.

"Well, we were reading a story, and she stands up and draws the attention to herself, like usual, and she said 'the epitome (ep-e-tome) of this story is-' and I couldn't take it, and it slipped out!"

"What slipped out?" Tom asks, very interested.

"I gritted my teeth and said 'The word it epitome! (əˈpidəmē!), and you how she hates to be corrected."

Tom rolls her eyes and takes another drag of her cigarette, "Why am I not surprised? She makes mountains out of molehills, she's a drama queen."

I blow another bubble and pop it again, "Understatement, she's the _queen_ of drama queens!"

We laugh for a few minutes.

"So Bow," Tom says suddenly, "What were you doing on this side of town?"

Because, Tom, the other girls and I are middle class, we're not really on the east side, or the west side, we're smack in the middle.

"I wanted to buy something." I say, shrugging.

"What did you get?" She asks.

I unzip my jacket and hand her the paperback book I bought, she takes it and grins, "The Grapes of Wrath." She says, handing the book back, "Shoot, here I nearly forgot how much you love Steinbeck."

I put my book back in my jacket and zip it up, "Tom, I think we should get home, you know how Pepper can be." I say.

Tom sighs, "You're probably right." she says, before sliding out of the tree, after she grinds the butt of her cigarette into the ground she turns back, "C'mon, I've gotcha." She says, holding her arms out.

Carefully, I slide out of the tree and into her arms, she's strong, not Rew strong, but strong. She smiles at me before we make our way down the sidewalk.

* * *

It takes a little while, but we finally make it back to our little house, by this time I've spit my gum out because after a few minutes I thought I was chewing on an eraser. When we walk inside, we're greeted with almost all of the girls being in the living room.

Rew is on the floor watching TV, Peach is lying on her stomach on the couch, also watching TV, Straight A is sitting in the armchair reading a book, Hermann is sitting on the arm of the couch doing her nails, and I don't see Pepper. Everyone in the room looks up as we enter.

"Well hello strangers, where have you been?" Peach asks, flipping onto her back and sitting up.

Nikki, or Peach as we call her, is the fourth oldest in our gang, just turned eighteen about a month ago. She has slightly tanned skin, short blonde slightly choppy hair, a thin face and blue eyes that always seemed to be dancing

We call her peach because before we met her, her life was too perfect, it was so perfect it was boring, too "peachy-keen". So she decided to shake things up.

Peach is the perfect mix of dork and badass, she could say something that's funny and kind of stupid, then turn around and pound you, and she, like Tom isn't afraid to let her "Freak Flag" fly, only she does it more often. However, she does know when to act like...herself, and when to act mature.

"I was out for a climb and Rainbow bought a book, we had to take refuge in a tree because Brea Chase was on the warpath." Tom explains, sitting next to Peach. I take my boots off the minute I'm inside, I don't like to wear shoes.

A disgusted groan comes from Rew, "That little Skag." She says in disgust.

Rew, or Vianca, is the third oldest in the gang. We call her Rew because she's a lot like Katherina from one of my favorite stories, "The taming of the shrew". The nicknames "Katherina" or "Kate" or "Shrew" didn't stick, so we took off the SH in 'shrew' and called her Rew. I thought it was clever.

Rew is eighteen-going-on-nineteen, she's very strong and muscular, she has light orange/strawberry blonde hair that's always tied into a braid, dark blue eyes, and a slightly rounded face. She isn't masculine, but she does have a very good build.

Rew has to be the most greaser out of all of us, she wears jeans, fitted t-shirts, leather jackets and boots, she's also the weed-fiend of the group. Straight A, Pepper and I don't touch the stuff, Peach only smokes to look tough, Hermann only lights one at parties occasionally and Tom only smokes once and a while to pass time or settle her nerves.

"Rew!" Pepper scolds from the kitchen, she's probably making dinner, "Don't call people such names!"

"Need I remind you," Rew starts as I sit next to her, "That it was her and her little group of skanks that jumped Rainbow last month!"

After that there's silence from the kitchen.

"Well...it's true." Peach says after a minute.

"Hay algo mal con esa chica." (There is something wrong with that girl.) Hermann says, blowing on her nails to speed up the drying.

Hermann is the second oldest in our gang. Her real name is Celina, but we call her Hermann because "hermana" means sister in Spanish, and because she has all brothers. She's hispanic, she moved to Tulsa from Mexico when she was younger, she moved in with us when she was eighteen.

She's beautiful! Black wavy hair, slender brown eyes, a thin heart shaped mouth with a beauty mark above her upper lip and she has a beautiful, thin, hourglass figure.

Hermann is the party girl of the gang, constantly going to them and hosting them, but she also has a "dark" or "Hood" side. Hermann had kind of a rough life growing up, partly because her family wasn't the wealthiest, so she had to learn to fend for herself and three little brothers.

Once she killed a rat with a shovel right in front of all of us, I had nightmares for a couple of days.

"Hermann...uh, no hablo español." Peach says, eyes shifting back and forth awkwardly.

"She said, 'there is something wrong with that girl'." Straight A says, not looking up from her book.

"Oh, thanks Straight A."

Straight A, or Beatrice, is the youngest in gang next to me, sixteen-years-old. She's the genius of the group, hence the name. She's quiet like me, but unlike me, she'll mouth off if you test her.

She has dark tan skin, dark drown hair that's always tied into two pigtails, with a thin body and face. The real beauty is in her eyes, dark blue, turned up eyes, but unfortunately, they're hidden by the large chunky glasses she wears.

"Anytime." Straight A says, going to turn a page of her book, only to be interrupted by Hermann, who grabs her wrist.

"Glory! Honey, you really need to stop biting your nails, or you'll never be able to wear nail polish!" Hermann exclaims, looking at Straight A's fingers.

Straight A pulls away, "Are you nuts? My old man would never let me wear nail polish!"

Straight A's father is really strict and protective, ever since her parents divorced, her dad got very weird. She practically lives with us, she only goes home to sleep.

It's because of this, that Straight A is the second pet of the gang.

"Well, maybe not nail polish, but at least try to wear better clothes." Uh oh, my eyes shift over to Peach, "You need to stop hiding behind all those sweaters."

I glance at Straight A, she's staring straight ahead, not blinking.

Not good.

"Well, maybe _you_ should try to wear better pants, people know you're a woman, you don't need to _prove it_ to them!" I bite my lip, Peach does wear shorts that are a little _too_ short.

Nonetheless, I haul butt out of there as a snit starts between the girls.

I go to my room and put away my book and jacket before I make my way into the kitchen where Pepper is standing by the stove, making dinner, I walk over behind her and kind of slump against her, resting my chin on her shoulder.

Pepper and I have done this for years, it's kind of our thing.

She reaches up and combs a piece of my hair back before kissing my temple, "Hi Hon." she says

"Hi Pepper."

Pepper, or Marnie, is the oldest in the group, twenty-three-years-old. She's very kind, motherly, and responsible but she knows when to let go and have fun and when to get strict. All of the girls see Pepper as an older sister, but I see her as my mom, despite the fact that she's only nine years older than me.

Shoot, there were a few times I actually _did_ call her Mom!

Pepper loves to cook, hence her name. She's a chef at a nice restaurant in town, so we always have delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner.

She has a motherly yet young face with warm grey eyes and long dark brown hair, she has very strong legs because she was in track in high school, that's why all of the girls in our gang are so fit, because Pepper makes us exercise.

"What's for dinner?" I ask.

"Spaghetti, cornbread muffins, and caesar salad." She says, adding butter to whatever she's working on.

"Oooh, sounds good." I say, taking a whiff of the food.

"Thanks Bab-" Pepper's cut off by a shout coming from the living room, I back up because I know what's coming.

"Girls stop it! Don't make me come in there!" Pepper yells.

Several sorries are heard before it goes quiet in the living room, "So, when's dinner gonna be ready?" I ask.

* * *

"Did you hear that that Dallas Winston guy was arrested again?" Rew asks between bites of a cornbread muffin.

"Yup, I swear, it's like he _tries_ to get arrested!" Tom says, before taking a sip of her drink.

"I'm pretty sure he does." Straight A says.

"What did he do this time?" Peach asks.

I drown out what Rew is saying as I take another bite of noodles.

This is the stuff the girls talk about during dinner; what's going on with the Socs and Greasers, who did what, blah blah blah. I'm usually not part of the conversations, I'm usually staring off into space, thinking of all of the stories I could write in my journal, or a picture I could draw.

After about twenty five minutes, dinner's over and we're all arguing about who's going to do the dishes, but after a few minutes Peach ends up doing them.

"Well girls, I better go, you know how my old man can be." Straight A says, picking up her jacket.

"You gonna be okay?" Pepper asks her, helping Peach load the sink.

"Yeah, I only live a block down. I'll see ya."

There's a chorus of goodbyes as Straight A walks to the front door.

After Straight A leaves, Pepper turns to me, "Rainbow, did you have homework?"

"Yeah, but I finished it before I went to town earlier." I reply with a slight shrug.

"Okay, now I need you to take your shower, I know it's early but you have practice tomorrow morning and want you to get to bed early so you don't get tired."

I'm on the school's Color Guard team, we sometimes have practice before and/or after school, and when we do, Pepper makes me go to bed early.

I just nod and head to the bathroom.

* * *

After I take my shower, blow-dry my hair and do my other nightly rituals, I head into my room and get into bed. Rew comes in a moment later. Since we don't have the biggest house we have to share rooms.

"Night Rew." I say.

"Night Rainbow." Rew says she turns out the light, then she climbs into her own bed and rolls over to fall asleep.

I nuzzle into my gold satin pillow and lie there for a few minutes, watching the moon through the blinds of the window, thinking about tomorrow, before my eyes slowly drift shut.

 **And there we go, this chapter alone took me about a week to write! I hope you enjoyed! Stay Gold my friends! :D**


	2. School

**AN: This chapter was hard for me to write. But I finally got it done! Enjoy :)**

"Rainbow...Rainbow...Rainbow!" My eyes snap open after I feel someone rip my blanket off me, causing me to shiver at the sudden exposer to cooler air.

"C'mon, up and at em'!" Rew says before turning and walking out of the room, closing the door behind her.

I blink the sleep out of my eyes and sit up slowly, I'm not a morning person in the slightest, except if there's an event going on. I yawn and stretch before I swing my legs over the side of my bed and stand up.

As I walk out of my room, the smell of bacon, toast and eggs fill my nostrils. Mmm.

I walk into the kitchen, where everyone, except Straight A, is sitting at the table.

"Morning Hon." Pepper says as I sit down at the table also.

"Morning." I say, reaching over to get myself of piece of toast.

"How'd you sleep?"

I put peanut butter on my toast before I respond, "I slept okay...If only _someone_ hadn't ripped my blanket off of me, I would've slept better." I look at Rew, who is trying not to laugh.

"Sorry, it's just that's the only way I can get you to wake up."

"That's a lie and you know it." I say after a swallow a bite of toast.

* * *

A little after the conversation I had with Rew, I have to shovel down my toast, bacon and orange juice (I don't like eggs) because Pepper begins her usual "Hurry or you'll be late."

I rush into my room to change into my clothes. I pull on a short white dress with a magenta, knitted sweater that's about the same length, I hold my sweater together with a black belt and slip on some black shoes with small heels.

I head into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and put my hair up into a bun, then I rush into the living room just as Straight A walks in through the front door.

"Hi Rainbow, are you ready to go?" she asks. Straight A and I walk to school together.

I sigh and grab my bag from one of the chairs, "As ready as I'll ever be."

She chuckles and heads back toward the door, I follow.

"We're leaving!" I call over my shoulder, but before Straight A and I could take another step, Pepper's voice comes from the kitchen, "Are you sure you want to walk by yourselves today? One of us can drive you-"

"Don't worry Pepper, Brea Chase is never out prowling this early." Straight A says with a small laugh.

"Well, alright girls, but be careful."

"We will, love you." I say, walking out the door.

"Bye Dears, love you too."

"I'll see you two later, love you." Tom calls. She goes to school also, but doesn't go early because she has her practices in the afternoon.

There are a few more "Love you too" and a single "Right back at ya."

I roll my eyes and close the door behind me, "Would it kill Rew to say, 'I love you' back every once and a while?" I ask Straight A as we walk off the porch.

Straight A chuckles, "Knowing her, I think it will."

We both laugh as we walk down the sidewalk.

"But, glory, I wish they would get off our backs sometimes, they know we can take care of ourselves if necessary." Straight A says after a minute.

I send her a look, "What did you expect? We're the gang's Pets, we're everyone's kid sisters…Blast it, I'm not just the Pet, I'm the _Pet's_ Pet!" Straight A cracks up something awful at my last remark.

* * *

After a few minutes we reach the school, "See ya later Rainbow." Straight A says, walking through the main doors.

Straight A comes early for tutoring, not for herself, she helps tutor the other kids.

"Bye." I call, turning and walking toward the gym.

Along the way to the locker room, I pass by some of the basketball boys, I'm lost in thought, as usual, and I don't really see them until I bump into one of them.

"Oh glory! I'm so sorry"! I exclaim, looking up at the boy I bumped into.

"Don't worry, it's not a problem, don't sweat it." He smiles at me, I smile back and continue my way to the locker room.

* * *

After about thirty minutes of practice, the other girls and I rush back into the locker room to change back into our everyday clothes.

As I slip back into my dress and sweater, I hear a few of the girls talking, this is where most of the gossip takes place. We're usually in a rush to get to practice, but not so much getting to class.

I usually don't join in on the gossip, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who actually wants to get to class on time.

 ***RRRIIIINNNNGG** *

Speaking of which.

I quickly slip on my shoes and grab my bag before I rush out of the locker room.

* * *

After that my day goes on as usual. I went to art class, where I worked on a still life that I'm going to have to color spot soon. English, where I had to write an essay. Easy. Home economics, where we're sewing. Drama, today we just took notes about pantomimes. Lunch, where Tom, Straight A and I went into town to eat. History, where we took notes about WWI.

And now, on to Math, my least favorite subject.

As I walk into my math classroom, I begin to hear whispers. I blow it off, there are a lot of "gossipers" in this class.

I sit at my desk as the bell rings and our teacher passes out worksheets for us to work on. Lucky for me, this unit is pretty easy.

As I pull out my notes, I hear someone go, "Psst." my head snaps up, "Psst, Rainbow." I hear again. I look at the girl that's sitting next to me.

Peggy Jean, she's always up in _someone's_ business. "What?" I ask, turning back to my paper, knowing that she's probably going to tell me some sort of gossip.

"Do you know that Chanel wants to fight you?"

My head snaps over so fast it kind of hurts, I resist screaming, but I do whisper scream " _What_?!"

She messes with her short ginger ponytails, "She says that you're going after her boyfriend and that she wants to fight you."

I look at her oddly, "Well I don't wanna fight her! Blast it I don't even know who her boyfriend _is_!"

Peggy just shrugs and goes back to her paper. I blink, then shrug, then go back to my own paper.

But after a few minutes, someone coughing in the hallway makes me look up from my work. My heart stops. It's Chanel. And she looks ticked off.

Her glare hardens and she gestures for me to come out into the hallway.

Does she want to fight me _now_?!

I try to gulp down a hard lump that's formed in the back of my throat and stand up. I might as well get it over with.

I go over to the teacher's desk, "Uh, Ms. Perry? May I go to the restroom?"

"Of course."

"Thank you." I say, walking out of the classroom.

As I walk into the hallway, I see Chanel, she glares at me and keeps gesturing me to follow her. I do so until we reach the main hallway.

"Chanel, what-" I start.

"Shut your trap!" She snaps.

Chanel Powers is in Brea Chase's gang. She's sixteen-years-old with dark tan skin, brown eyes that has a little too much eye make-up, long straight light brown hair, and thick purple lips with purple lipstick. (I think it's ridiculous, it's more ridiculous than Peach's bright pink lipstick she wears.)

Chanel may not be the leader of the group, but it's easy to say that she's the meanest.

I draw back as Chanel continues, "So, I heard you were putting the moves on my boyfriend." she snarls.

"Chanel!" I exclaim, "I didn't put the moves on your boyfriend! I don't even know who your boyfriend is!"

Chanel looks at me like I'm stupid, "Are you kidding me? He's on the basketball team, the handsome hunk!"

My eyes widen, the boy I bumped into this morning! "You've got this all wrong Chanel! I was going to Color Guard training and I bumped into him! That's all that happened!"

"That's not what he told me! He told me he thought you were cute!" She spits.

By this time I'm almost frustrated to tears, "I didn't _tell him_ to think I was cute! I just-"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Chanel snarls, taking a step toward me, "Listen here you little skag. If I catch you anywhere near my boyfriend again, me and the girls will make last month look like _nothing_!"

I open my mouth only to have a sudden sharp pain shoot through my right cheek as Chanel slugs me before she turns and marches away.

I stand there for a few minutes, the lockers and entire hallway become blurry as tears well up in my eyes. But I blink them away, I'm not gonna start bawling in the middle of the hallway.

I wipe my eyes on the sleeve of my sweater before I make my way back to class.

When I'm back in class, I sit down and don't say a word and don't make eye contact with anyone. I let my hair down so that it hangs in front of my face like curtains, so that no one sees that I'm close to tears.

I take in a breath and let it out shakily. I'm definitely telling the girls about this.

As I continue to work on my worksheet, my mind wanders back to last month, when I was jumped by Brea Chase and her gang.

* * *

I was walking home from the drug store. I had been craving a candy bar, so I shot down to there to get one. It wasn't a long walk, so I went on my own.

As I walked down the sidewalk, I heard a car come up behind me, but I didn't think anything of it.

Until I heard it accelerate.

I whirled around and ran to the side as the red Stingray swerved over to the side, nearly hitting me! I glanced in the driver's seat as the Stingray sped away, and I saw a ticked off looking Brea Chase glaring at me through one of the side mirrors.

' _Oh glory_!' I thought, beginning to run down the road.

As I ran I had to skid to a halt as the Stingray suddenly came from the side, right in front of me! I muttered a curse and continued to run down the road.

As I ran, the Stingray suddenly sped around me and screeched to a halt right in front of me. I tried to run the opposite direction, but the girls in the car quickly cornered me, my back against a brick wall.

Chanel was one of them. The other three were Makenzie Lake, Lindsay Harbor, and Annette Gregorio.

Makenzie has blonde hair that she bleaches, cold, icy blue eyes and a rounded face with a lot of make-up. She's the gossiper and fashionista of the group. (And probably the one that spread the rumor about me bumping into Chanel's boyfriend.)

Lindsay Harbor is...not a pretty girl, I'm sorry. She has a round face with brown eyes and brown hair that she ties back into a ponytail with a scarf. She's also up in everyone's business and is mean to _everyone_.

The last and definitely the least is Annette Gregorio. She has pale skin, dark brown eyes and orange/brown hair that fall around her shoulders. She is...a skank. That's what she is. She goes out with all the guys she can get her hands onto, wears clothes that are way too revealing and wears way too much make-up.

I heard heels walking toward us, I looked over saw Brea Chase walking up to us. She looked at me for a second before she said, "Get 'er girls."

The next thing I knew I was forced against the brick wall; Lindsay and Makenzie holding my arms, Annette and Chanel holding my legs.

My breathing sped up and my eyes began to burn, I blinked quickly because I was not about to let Brea Chase see me cry.

She walked in front of me and glared, "So, a little bird told me that you were eying my man." She said, hate laced in every word.

"That's not what happened!" I exclaimed, "I was looking at the poster that was _behind_ him!" I had made a poster for the drama club and I wanted to see how it looked.

"How stupid do you think I am?!" Brea almost screeched.

I bit my tongue so I didn't blurt out "You don't want me to answer that." I just glowered at her.

"What's the matter with you? Cat suddenly got your tongue?" I didn't like the wicked smile she gave me, "Well I know something that will get you talking. Ladies...Don't hold anything back."

And they didn't.

I was forced to the ground, my arms and legs were bombarded with blows from Makenzie, Chanel, Annette and Lindsay. While Brea began to slug me in the face. I had to curl into a ball, I couldn't fight back.

Tears began to stream down my face, then I went wild. I called for Rew, Tom, Pepper, anyone!

"Shut up!" Brea snapped, "Shut up you stupid sk-"

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

There were several swears from Brea and her gang before the blows let up and I was left lying there on the concrete.

Then I heard about five pairs of feet running in my direction, I saw Rew, Tom, Peach, and Hermann's legs rush past me, and then Straight A appeared and knelt down by me.

"Are you okay Rainbow?" She asks.

I was too shaken to answer, so I sort of shook my head as I see the girls chase Brea and her gang back to their car. Throwing whatever they could get their hands on at them. They threw rocks, sticks, loose gravel from the road, Peach even threw a handful of sand at them.

As Brea and her gang drove off, swearing at Rew and the others, I heard another pair of feet rushing up to where Straight A and I were. "Girls, what's going o-...oh my!" I was suddenly in another pair of arms. Pepper's arms.

"Oh Honey, Honey what happened?" Pepper asked, pushing my hair behind my ear.

"I-I..." I couldn't say anymore, I broke right there, bawling into Pepper's chest as she brushed my hair with her fingers, "Shh, Honey, it's okay...You're gonna be okay, Shh."

After a minute or so I calmed down enough to look around at the other girls. Straight A was kneeling beside me, probably checking to see if my injuries were too bad.

Peach was bent over slightly, her hands on her knees, biting her bottom lip while her eyebrows were knitted together with concern, for once her eyes weren't lit up and dancing.

Tom and Hermann were looking between me and each other with looks of concern on their faces.

But the one that stuck with me the most was Rew. Her eyes were wide and she had a hand over her mouth, she looked as bad as I felt and was close to tears.

A little later after we got home, the girls helped me inside and tended to my wounds. My arms and legs were covered in bruises and scrapes, there was a shiner forming to the side of my right eye, and my nose and bottom lip were bleeding.

That night I had to sleep with Pepper, I felt so dumb and childish after, but at the time, I just wanted to be close to someone.

"Are you gonna be okay, Baby?" Pepper asked me as she put her arm around me.

I just blinked and started to nod off, "I hope so." I said.

* * *

 ***RRRIIIINNNNGG** *

The bell snaps me out of my thoughts and I quickly put my pencil back in my bag and turn in my paper to the teacher.

I walk out of my math classroom and down the hall to my final class of the day, science class. When I walk in, there's a substitute sitting in the teacher's desk. Mr. Blank, I've had him before, he doesn't care what you do as long as you don't trash the classroom or start a rumble.

"Name?" He asks.

"Rainbow Swan." I say. When I was enrolled in school, I made Pepper put "Rainbow" instead of my real name.

He writes down my name as I head to my seat; in the very back, next to a window. I have to climb up onto the stool because it's high off the ground, for me anyway.

Seeing that our substitute doesn't care what we do, I pull out my sketchbook and my pencils. I flip to my latest drawing: One of those yellow and black striped butterflies landing on a lavender flower.

The bell rings as I work on adding details to the lavender, then I see someone sit next to me from the corner of my eye. "Hey Rainbow."

I'm too engrossed by my drawing to look up, "Hi Randy."

Randy and I have been friends since school started, even though he's a soc and I'm middle class/greaser. We don't really care, we like each other. As friends that is.

"How's things?" He asks.

"Meh..." I say with a slight shrug.

Randy suddenly moves some of my hair out of my face, "I thought I saw something." He's referring to the light red mark on my cheek from where Chanel slugged me, "Did you have a run in with Chanel?"

"You heard about that?" I ask, setting down my pencil and looking at him.

"Pretty sure the whole school knows about it, you know how fast Mackenzie can spread rumors."

I just shrug, "Yeah."

"So, are you going to Samantha Green's party this Friday?" Randy asks suddenly, changing the topic entirely.

Samantha Green is the party girl of the school, even more of a party girl than Hermann.

"I don't think so." I say, going back to my drawing.

"Aw come on Rainbow. Samantha throws the best parties...and I heard that Joey Don really wants you to go."

My head snaps up. Joey Don is the school's "Hunk" if you will, all the girls want him...And he wants _me_ to go the party!

"Well, uh...I will think about it." I quickly regain myself, "But it'll probably be the same answer as before."

Randy sighs, rolls his eyes slightly and messes up my hair, "You're one of a kind Rainbow, I'll give ya that."

I just laugh.

* * *

Randy and I talk until the final bell rings. I stuff my things into my bag and walk out the door with Randy. Someone walks up to us.

"Hey Randy, are you read- Oh hey kid." My hair is ruffled once again.

"Hi Bob." I say, fixing my hair. Bob and I are friends also, Randy introduced me to him.

"What were you going to ask me?" Randy asks Bob.

"If you were ready to go? Me and the guys are waiting."

"Uh, yeah I'm ready, see ya later Rainbow."

"Bye Kiddo."

"Bye Randy, bye Bob." I say as they walk away.

After that I walk to the main entrance and walk outside. I sit on the steps leading up to the entrance, waiting for Tom and Straight A.

After a few minutes, Straight A walks up to me, "Hi Rainbow, how was your day?" She asks as I stand from my seat on the steps.

"It was...interesting. Tom training?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah...And how was it interesting?"

I sigh and begin to make my way down the sidewalk, "I'll tell you when we get home."

 **AN: Randy and Bob belong to S.E Hinton. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :D  
**


	3. The Party

**AN: Hi guys, sorry for the slight delay, school is almost over and finals are coming up, lots of events and stress :/, but I finally got this written! :D**

"She did WHAT?!" Rew screams.

After Straight A and I got home, I went and told the others about the encounter I had with Chanel. They're all angry, but Rew is about to shoot through the roof.

"Rew calm dow-" Pepper starts.

"No I will not calm down! Can't those little skanks just leave Rainbow alone?! What did she do to _them_?!"

"Went after their men, according to them." I say simply with a slight shrug.

"You realize they're only doing this because they're jealous of Rainbow right?" Straight A asks.

"I don't care _why_ they're doing it! All I want to do, is just grab their stupid heads and-" Rew makes a violent gesture in midair. My eyes go wide.

"Rew!" Pepper scolds, "If you keep talking and acting like that one of these days you'll get hauled in!"

"I know, I know…" Rew takes in a deep breath and lets it out, "They just make me so angry! I can't control myself when they're around, or mentioned!"

"I know, but violence isn't going to solve anything, I'll go down to the school tomorrow and talk to the principal, that's all we can do for now." Pepper says, walking away.

* * *

That evening at dinner, I think back to Randy's words as I eat.

' _Samantha_ _throws the best parties…_ _and_ _Joey Don wants me to go_.' I take another bite of my bread roll.

' _But I've never been to a party_... _a huge one like Samantha Green's that is_.'

My thoughts about the party are all over the place during dinner, one minute I want to go, the next minute I don't. Ugh...

"Rainbow?" My head snaps up and I look at Pepper, who's looking at me with concern.

"Are you okay Hon? You're awfully quiet...more than usual."

"Oh...Sorry, I'm just thinking about school and stuff." I say with a shrug.

* * *

I have my answer when I walk into science class the following day.

"So Rainbow, have you decided if you're going to the party or not?" Randy asks me as we do our work.

"Yeah, I've decided I'm not going."

"Aw...Well, your choice." He says, shrugging.

After class, I say goodbye to Bob and Randy again. Before I turn to walk to the main entrance, I hear a voice.

"Rainbow! Rainbow!" I turn around to face the girl that's rushing up to me.

One of my friends, Elise Reynolds.

"Hi Elise, what's up?" I ask.

"Nothing much, Are you going to Samantha's party tomorrow?"

"No." I say, expecting her to start with the same "Aw come on Rainbow" that Randy did.

"Oh good! Because I was going to ask you if you wanted to spend the night!" She says excitedly.

"Oh! Well...I'd love to! But I'll have to ask Pepper." I say, before I start to the entrance, "See you later." I call over my shoulder.

"Bye bye!" I have to fight back a laugh and roll my eyes, Elise is kind of a dork.

* * *

The next day, after science, I find Elise by her locker, "Hey Elise."

"Hey Rainbow, what did Pepper say about you coming over tonight?" She asks.

"She said it was fine, since it ain't a school night." I say, smiling slightly.

Her thin lips morph into an ear splitting grin, "Yes!" She squeals, "You can come to my around seven, that okay?"

"That's fine Elise, I'll see you later." I say, turning and walking away.

* * *

"Bye Hon, see you tomorrow." Pepper calls from the car as I walk up the pathway to Elise's house.

"Bye Pepper." I call over my shoulder.

I walk up the porch steps and knock on the door, I wait for a moment before Elise's mom answers the door, dressed in an evening gown, Elise's parents must be going out.

"Hello Rainbow, Elise is upstairs." She says, letting me inside.

"Thanks Mrs. Reynolds." I say, walking up the stairs.

When I get upstairs, I knock on Elise's door, "Who is it?" she calls.

"It's me, Rainbow." I say through the door.

There's some rustling noises before the door opens and Elise stands there in a floor length robe, yet she still has on her make-up...I think she has on more actually.

"Hi Rainbow, come in come in!" She says, ushering me into her room and closing the door, "What's up?"

"Nothing much, you're parents going out?" I ask, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Yeah, something going on at Dad's work, they'll leave in a few minutes, and they won't be back for a long while." Elise explains, sitting next to me.

"So, what are the plans for tonight?" I ask.

"Uh...About that-" Elise is cut off by someone knocking on the bedroom door.

"Come in." Elise calls. Her mom pokes her head in the door, "Girls, we're leaving."

"Okay Mom."

"Are you sure you girls will be okay here alone?" Her Mom asks, a look of concern on her face.

"Yes, Mom, I've stayed home alone before. We'll be fine." I can tell Elise is getting frustrated.

"Well, alright. But call us if you need anything."

"Alright."

"Bye girls."

"Bye" Elise and I say in unison.

The minute the door closes Elise stands up and rips off her robe, revealing a short black party dress with ruffles.

"Uh...what's with the dress?" I ask, confused.

"We're going to Samantha Green's party!" She declares.

"I knew it!" I say, standing up, "I knew you were up to _something_ , I'm goin' home!" but when I turn she grabs my arm.

"Come on Rainbow!" There it is, "You gotta learn to live a little, it's just one party!"

"A _huge_ party, I don't do good at parties! Even small parties! I'm usually in an empty room or corner reading or drawing a picture!"

She gives me a look, "That's why we're goin' to Samantha Green's! So you can get the full party experience, don't worry, you'll be with me."

I think things over in my head, before I heave a sigh, "Alright."

Elise grins, "Yay!"

"But I don't have anything to wear."

"You can have one of my dresses, I don't like it much anyways." She explains, going into her closet.

I roll my eyes, ' _Sure_ , _give me an old, ugly dress you don't wa_ -... _Glory_!'

The dress she pulls out of the closet is actually a fine dress; It's an ivory color, with a black belt and black spots all over it.

"Wow." I say, taking it from her.

"Put it on, then I'll do your make-up and we'll go." She tells me, turning to give me some privacy.

I take off my shorts and t-shirt and slip on the dress, it's a little loose, but that's the way I like them, so it works.

I hear Elise from behind me, "That dress really suits you Rainbow."

"Thanks." I say, turning to smile at her.

"Alrighty alrighty alrighty." She pats her bed, "Sit down so I can do your make-up."

"Do I have to wear-"

"Rainbow." She raises her eyebrows.

"Okay, okay." I say, sitting on her bed, "But don't overdo it."

"No promises."

* * *

"Rainbow, trust me, you look fantastic!" Elise says as we walk down the sidewalk, heading to Samantha Green's house.

"I didn't say I didn't look good," I smirk at her from the corner of my eye, "You did fantastic with the make-up, it's just that I don't really do good at parties."

"You'll be fine, just stick with me." She says, winking.

"If you say so."

We walk for a few more minutes before we reach Samantha Green's house. It's packed!

I see cars parked all around, people hanging out outside, and I hear loud music coming from inside. I bite my lip. Here goes nothing.

Elise and I walk up the stairs that lead to the front door and walk inside. I look around, people are dancing, talking, laughing, yelling, drinking and making out all over the place, it's very overwhelming...for me anyway.

"Elise, I don't know about th...Elise?" I look around. She's gone.

I groan and call her a few names under my breath, now I have to find her. I look around and take a deep breath before I push through the tightly knit crowd of people, calling for Elise.

"Elise! Elise! Where are you?! This isn't funny!" I make it to the dining room, where it's a little less crowded, I can breathe a little easier.

"Elise!" I call again.

"Hey Rainbow!" I jump and turn around quickly, coming eye to eye with Randy's neck, I back up and look at him, "Glad you changed your mind! You look good!"

I can tell that he's a little plastered, "Thanks, Elise talked me into it...Have you seen her by the way?"

"Nup, but if you need anything, me and the guys will be out back." Then he walks away, I'm alone again.

I groan before I continue my search for Elise. But after a few minutes of calling her name, I give up, I'm going home.

I'm almost to the front door when I feel this hand on my shoulder, then I'm spun around by someone.

"What-" I start, then I stop. It's Joey.

Joey Don is seventeen-years-old, with dark brown eyes, black hair that's licked back, and a muscular build.

"Oh, uh, hi Joey." I say, brushing a piece of hair behind my ear shyly, "How are you?"

"I've been looking for you." he says, smiling.

Before I can reply to this, he grabs my hand and pulls me out on to the dance floor.

"Let's dance." he says.

"Oh, okay." I say. By now there's a slow song playing, and all of the couples are on the floor, dancing slowly.

I wrap my arms around his neck and he places his hands on my hips lightly. We slowly turn and sway to the music for a minute, he smiles at me, I smile back.

As we dance around the dance floor, I suddenly feel Joey wrap his arms around my waist...then they start to get lower...

And lower...

And then-

"Joey!" I exclaim, pushing him back, he's bigger than I am so he doesn't go back very far.

He looks at me apologetically, "Sorry...It's just, I can't control myself when I'm around you...you're so pretty."

I feel my face and ears go hot. I'm so shocked by this comment that I'm barely able to form the words to respond, "Th-th- thank you..." I shake myself out of it, "But I really think we should stop."

He gives me a smile, "Great idea." he says, taking my hand and leading me through the crowded room.

"Joey, where-?" I start.

"You'll see." He says, dragging me up a flight of stairs. I look around, I'm getting nervous.

"C'mon." Joey says, pulling me into a random room...only it isn't random, it's a bedroom.

I look around the room, then back at Joey, who grins, wraps his arm around my waist, and kicks the door shut with his foot.

 **AN: Uh oh, cliffhanger, and a fun fact, I actually wrote this chapter and chapter four at the same time, so chapter 4 should be out soon, fingers crossed. Hope you enjoyed. ;)**


	4. Spilled Perfume

**AN: This chapter is told through third person point of view, and was inspired by the song "Spilled Perfume" by Pam Tillis.**

That following day back at home, late morning early noon, Rew is sitting on the couch, her feet up on the coffee table, drinking a bottle of pop and flipping through TV channels. She's also the only one in the house.

Pepper had to get to work, Peach and Straight A drove into town to pick up some groceries for Pepper, Tom went to play baseball with her friends, and Hermann went to some party and wasn't back yet, which was to be expected.

Rew doesn't really have anything to do, so she's waiting for Rainbow to get back from her sleepover.

"Boring...boring...boring." Rew mutters to herself as she flips through the TV channels, she let's out a slight groan, "C'mon Bow...come home so we can go out and do somethin' fun." She mutters and at that moment, she hears footsteps walk up the porch steps.

' _Speak of the Devil_.' Rew thinks, setting her pop down and turning off the TV.

When Rainbow walks in, Rew can't help but draw back, she's a mess.

Her hair is messed up, the dress she has on isn't hers, and it's wrinkled, there are dark rings under her eyes, but the look on her face is what gets to Rew.

"Girl, if I ever saw one, that's an 'I can't believe I did that' look." Rew says, taking her feet off the coffee table and patting the seat on the couch next to her.

"It's that obvious, huh?" Rainbow asks, sitting down and running her fingers through her already messy hair.

"I'm not gonna bust your chops Bow, but I gotta know if you did what I think you did." Rew is secretly dreading the answer to be 'Yes.'

Rainbow looks at Rew with a confused look, "What are-" Her eyes widen as she realizes what Rew is talking about, "NO! No...I didn't do _that_...I almost did, but I didn't."

Rew releases the breath she didn't realize she was holding, then she places a hand on Rainbow's shoulder, "How'd it happen?" She asks, "I thought you went over to Elise's for a sleepover."

"Well, she wanted to go to Samantha Green's party, I told her I didn't want to go, but she eventually convinced me and we went." Rainbow sighs, "Well, the minute we get inside she disappears. So I just kinda milled around, and _no_ I didn't drink any alcohol, though I wish I could use that as an excuse."

"So...Who was he?" Rew asks.

Rainbow sighs again and leans back so her head is resting against the back of the couch, "Joey Don..."

Rew's mouth drops open and her eyes widen in horror.

"I'm so stupid." Rainbow groans.

"What happened?" Rew asks, wrapping her arm around Rainbow's shoulder.

"Well, like I said, Elise hauled butt the minute we got inside, so I wandered around looking for her, I talked to one of my friends for a few minutes. I had given up on finding Elise and was about to leave, but then I felt this hand on my shoulder and was spun around."

"Joey?" Rew asks.

Rainbow nods, "Yup, well, I wasn't really shocked because my friends had all been saying that Joey wanted me to go to the party, so I just greeted him, and he responded by pulling me onto the dance floor."

"Okaaay..." Rew says.

"Well, while we were dancing, I was a little uncomfortable because he was getting a little handsy, but at the same time I kinda liked it," Rainbow's face burns.

"It's okay Kiddo, what happened next?"

"Well, like I said I got very uncomfortable, so I told Joey that I wanted to stop, well, he gave me this...smile and dragged me from the room and upstairs."

A vein twitches in Rew's head.

"Well, when we got there, we went into the bedroom and...You don't wanna hear this, I'm gonna go." But when she tries to get up, face red with embarrassment, Rew pulls her back down.

"Rainbow, you need to get this off your chest, tell me everything, don't be embarrassed." Rew says.

Rainbow gives her a slight smile, "Thanks Rew. Well, when we got in the bedroom, we both sat on the edge of the bed and he started to tell me that he thought I was one of the prettiest girls he'd seen and that he really cared for me...and then, uh we started to make out..."

Rew is dreading the next part even though she knew Rainbow didn't do anything.

"Then, he pushed me down on the bed and said that he wanted me really badly, and I was so flattered and uh...I guess enthralled to resist at first... _but then_ he laid on me and started to give these... kisses," Rainbow makes a face that makes Rew want to burst out into laughter.

"They were big and wet and gross, and then I came to my senses and thought, ' _What the hell am I doing_?' and I started to try to push him away, but he wouldn't have it."

Rew makes a fist, but keeps it out of Rainbow's field of vision, ' _Don't let her see it, you'll scare her_.' She thinks.

"I pushed at him harder, and that's when I realized he was drunk, I got scared because I wasn't ready and he kept pushing it...the next thing I knew, my knee came up and I pushed him off and ran out of the house and back to Elise's, but I couldn't slee-e-ep." Rainbow finishes with a yawn.

"I can see that. Why don't you go back to sleep now?" Rew asks.

"Is it okay if I sleep in here? I don't want to wake up alone if this comes up in a nightmare."

Rew pulls away and moved so she was leaning against a pillow that's against the arm of the couch. Rainbow looks at her with confusion for a minute until the older girl pats her shoulder.

"I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Who's askin? Now get over here before I make you."

Rainbow smiles at Rew lightly before she scoots over and lies, back up, on Rew's chest, lying her head on Rew's shoulder.

"Comfortable?" Rew asks, taking her jacket off and laying it on top of Rainbow.

"Mhmm." Rainbow says, drifting off in a matter of seconds.

* * *

After an hour long nap, Rainbow wakes up.

"Hi there. Have a nice nap?" Rew asks as Rainbow sits up and stretches.

"Yeah, but I think I'm gonna take a shower." Rainbow says, standing up and walking from the room.

The minute Rew hears the bathroom door close, she stomps her foot on the floor angrily, "Stupid, stupid!" She says through her teeth.

She sighs roughly and runs a hand through hair, "I can't believe this." She says to the ceiling.

Rew stops fuming when she hears footsteps on the porch steps, and Peach, Straight A, and Hermann all walk in through the front door. Peach and Straight A carrying bags of groceries.

"Welcome home." Rew says, standing up, "Need any help?"

"Nah, we got it." Peach says as she and Straight A walk into the kitchen.

Rew chuckles, "How was the party Hermann?"

"It was good, I danced and sang, but then I also got a little plastered and had to spend the night." Hermann explains, sitting in the armchair, taking off her high heels.

' _Of course she comes home happy and spotless while Rainbow comes home a mess_.' Rew thinks bitterly.

"Hey, did Rainbow ever come home from her sleepover?" Straight A asks from the kitchen.

"Yeah, she's taking a shower now." Rew replies, picking up her pop bottle and walking into the kitchen to toss it into the recycling bin, when a thought hits her.

' _I'll bet Rainbow hasn't had breakfast yet_... _I'll take her out_ _to eat_ _when she gets out of the shower_.' she thinks.

After a few minutes, Rew hears the bathroom door open and close, then the door to her and Rainbow's bedroom close.

She gets up from her place on the couch and goes to her bedroom door, "Rainbow, it's Rew, can I come in?"

"Gimme a second."

Rew crosses her arms and leans against the wall, looking around until she hears, "Okay."

When Rew opens the door, she sees Rainbow sitting on her bed, fully dressed and her slightly damp hair put up in a bun.

"What's up?" Rainbow asks.

"I wanna go out, wanna come?" Rew asks.

"Uh...sure I guess, where we goin'?"

"To that new cafe they built downtown." Rew says, jabbing her thumb in that direction.

"Ooh, sounds good, let me put on my shoes." Rainbow says, jumping up.

"We're goin' out!" Rew calls as she walks into the living room, slipping her jacket back on.

"'Kay! Be careful!"

"We will, see ya!" Rew calls and she and Rainbow walk out the door.

* * *

Once at the cafe, Rew and Rainbow order some food and start up a conversation while they wait for it to arrive.

"Why do I have a feeling there's more to this than meets the eye?" Rainbow asks, taking a sip of the sweet tea she ordered.

"More to what?" Rew asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Taking me out to breakfast."

"Oh, well, I figured you were hungry, I can't cook very well, and..." she breathes in, "I figured you needed to get out and get your mind off of...things." Her eyes dart left and right nervously.

"Oh..." Rainbow looks as her lap for a moment, "Thanks...I do feel better than I did earlier." She looks over as the young waiter delivers their food, Rew looks at her eyes.

She knows that look, it's a look of fear, a look of fear, distrust, and anger toward men, all men. And Rew doesn't like it in her sweet sisters eyes.

"I hope you weren't doing anything today, cause I have more stuff planned." Rew says taking a bite of her eggs.

"Oh really, and what plans would that be?" Rainbow asks, pouring some syrup on to her pancakes.

"You'll have to wait and see." Rew says teasingly.

Rainbow just sticks her tongue out and makes Rew crack up something awful.

* * *

After the girls eat their breakfast, they leave the cafe and kill time by wandering around town.

They wander around until it's late in the afternoon, then Rew leads Rainbow to the park. The park is almost empty when they get there, and they walk over and sit on the edge of the fountain.

Rew lights a cigarette and Rainbow pulls out a piece of gum, "So, is this one of your plans, or are we just resting?" Rainbow asks, blowing a bubble with her gum.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Rew says, and the seriousness in her voice surprises Rainbow.

"About what?"

"About earlier. I noticed a look in your eyes when the waiter gave us our food."

Rainbow's eyes move back and forth slowly, "And what look was that?"

Rew takes a drag of her cigarette and exhales the smoke before she replies, "A look of fear, anger, distrust."

Rainbow blinks, "I-I don't understand…"

"You hate all men." Rew says bluntly.

Rainbow bites her lip, "Well, the whole incident with Joey kinda-"

"Exactly!" Rew says suddenly, making Rainbow jump.

Rew looks around and takes another drag of her cigarette, "Listen, there's something I'm about to tell you, but it stays between us, savvy?"

Rainbow just looks at Rew and nods. Rew knows she shouldn't be worried, Rainbow's kept secrets before, she'll take em to her grave...or forget them. Either way, Rew kows she shouldn't be worried.

"Um...Joey never told you we went out...Did he?"

"Wait what?" Rainbow asks, her eyes widening slightly.

"When I was a senior...we went out for a month."

Rainbow blinks multiple times, "Wh-why?"

" _Hello_ , because he was a _babe_!" Rew says, look up slightly, like she was daydreaming.

Rainbow furrows her eyebrows slightly, "But...you hate Joey."

"Yeah, _now_ I do."

"...What happened?"

Rew doesn't answer, she looks around, bites her lip, moves her eyebrows up and down and coughs slightly.

Rainbow realizes what Rew is talking about and gasps, choking her gum for a moment before she spits it out and looks at Rew with wide eyes.

"Yup, Joey got to me to, but unlike you, I succumbed to him."

"Oh _please_ tell me you're kidding!"

"I wish I was."

"Wha-...Why didn't you tell us?!" Rainbow exclaims.

"Because there's no use cryin' over spilled pefume!" Rew says defensively, then she takes a drag of her cigarette and says more calmly, "And the reason nobody else knew about it is because I threatened Joey that if he told anyone I'd tell everyone in school how small his-"

"Okay okay okay! Stop right there!" Rainbow exclaims, clapping her hands over her ears.

Rew laughs for a moment, "Anyway," She says, calming down, Rainbow uncovers her ears, "The reason I'm telling you this is because after that, I thought all men were the same, and I hated every single one of them."

Rew looks in Rainbow's eyes, "And I don't want that to happen to you, I don't want you to hate anyone, you're too sweet and too loving to hate anyone...except Brea Chase and her gang...but-" Rew sighs, "I don't want you're heart to harden like mine did, you have such a pure heart, and I don't want a dingus like Joey to ruin that about you."

Rainbow is shocked beyond words, Rew has never been this emotional and open about...well... _anything_.

"Rew...I didn't know you felt that way."

"Of course I feel that way!" Rew exclaims, "...I love you."

Rainbow feels her heart swell, "I love you too." she says.

Rew grins and wraps her arm around Rainbow.

"So…how small was it?" Rainbow asks after a minute.

Rew doesn't think she's laughed so hard in her life.

* * *

That following week, things seem to be getting back to normal; Rainbow is back to her usual cheerful, kind self, and Rew takes some of the credit for that.

That Friday, Rew is sitting on the couch talking to the other girls, when Tom, Straight A, and Rainbow all walk in. Tom and Straight A seem to be pestering Rainbow about something.

"Hey girls, what's up?" Rew asks.

"Nothing is up!" Rainbow says, but Tom tells them something different.

"She's in _looooove_!"

"Shut up!" Rainbow says, blushing, before she runs into her room, leaving the other girls giggling like hyenas.

Rew half grins and stands up from the couch, going into her room, where Rainbow is sitting on her bed, holding her sketchbook close to her chest, and staring longingly at the ceiling.

Rew closes the door, "Seeing that I helped you recover from your encounter with Joey and told you one of my deepest secrets, I'd say you owe me." Rew sits her her bed and leans forward so her arms are on her knees, "So...what's his name?"

Rainbow looks at Rew, blushes and bites her grinning lip.

"Ponyboy Curtis."

 **AN: Now this is when things start to get interesting. ;)**


	5. Ponyboy

**AN: Yay! Chapter 5! I've been wanting to write this** **since I wrote chapter 3! XD**

Wow, I am the world's biggest _bozo_! Ponyboy was in my English class the entire time! And I never noticed him.

Well, I knew he was there, I guess I just didn't acknowledge him. But now I'm seeing him _everywhere_! In class, in the halls, outside, everywhere!

It's making quite the impact on me, I'm not as focused on school as I used to be. My thoughts keep drifting back to Ponyboy, and my overactive imagination doesn't help matters.

I didn't really notice until I had science class yesterday, we were doing an experiment and I had to fill a beaker with water while Randy went to get the other materials, of course my mind drifted and I didn't notice that the beaker overflowed until I looked down and saw a large puddle on the table.

When Randy came back he just looked at the spill and called, "We need some paper towels over here."

If you don't think that's embarrassing, you're crazy.

"Are you feelin' okay Rainbow?" Straight A asks me as we walk home from school.

"Yeah, why?" I ask, even though I know what the answer is going to be.

"You seem...I dunno, out of it." She says.

"Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind, that's all." I say, before hastily changing the subject.

* * *

When we get home, I kick off my shoes and I look for Hermann, she's really good when it comes to relationship advice.

I find her in her room, sitting on her bed reading a magazine, she looks up and smiles as I enter.

"Hola Rainbow? Como estas?"

"I need help." I say, closing the door, walking over and sitting on the edge of her bed.

She raises as eyebrow and sets down her magazine, "What's the matter?"

"Well," I twirl a lock of my hair around my finger and look around, "There's this boy in my English class that I really like and-" I'm cut off by Hermann leaning over and giving me a big hug, " _Oohhh_ , Tom and Straight A were right! You _are_ in love!" She sing-songs.

"Hermann!" I exclaim, blushing and pushing her away from me, "Stop it! I'm embarrassed enough as it is!"

"Why? Everyone gets crushes Rainbow."

"Because it's _me_!" I say, patting myself in the chest rapidly.

"That's true," She says out of the corner of her mouth, "So, what did you need help with?" She asks.

"I can't get this guy out of my mind! I'm not focusing on as school as much and I'm becoming a klutz!"

Hermann strokes her chin thoughtfully, "Hmm...Rainbow, it sounds like you're experiencing...Puppy love."

I blink and blush again, "What?"

"Puppy love, it's...not really your first taste at love, but...hmm, this is hard to explain, even for me." She rests her cheek on her fist and looks up at the ceiling, like she's thinking, "Let me ask you something...you said you haven't been focusing on school as much?"

I nod.

"...And you said you were becoming a klutz...what did you mean by that, exactly?"

"Well, in science class yesterday, we were doing an experiment and I had to fill a beaker with water while Randy went to get the other materials, well, as I was filling it up, my mind drifted back to P-...The boy and I poured too much water into the beaker and it overflowed onto the table."

Hermann chuckles, "Don't worry chiquita, that's normal for a girl your age."

By now I'm frustrated, "Hermann! You're missing the point! When will it stop?! _Will_ it stop?! What do I do?!"

"Rainbow calm down!" Hermann exclaims, grabbing my shoulders lightly.

I breathe in and out before I look at her.

"Hmm...Let me ask you this, what do _you_ think will make this stop?"

I blink and think for a moment, "If he notices me, because I'm spending a good portion of my classes thinking ' _Is he looking at me_?' ' _Did he notice me_?' ' _Does he secretly like me but to shy to say anything_?'...etcetera."

"Getting noticed, I can help you with _that_ one hundred percent!" Hermann says, smiling.

"Okay, what should I do?"

"Doll yourself up a little bit, wear something nice, wear a little more make-up than usual, wear your hair differently..." Hermann lists, counting off the ways I could doll myself up on her fingers.

"Okay okay, I got it. Thanks Hermann."

* * *

The next day, after breakfast, I go into the bathroom to do my hair, make-up, and put on my clothes. When I walk out of the bathroom, everyone stops what they're doing and looks at me.

My hair is fuller and wavier than usual and I have on lip gloss and mascara, but the thing that seals the deal is my outfit; I have on a navy blue skirt and vest, with lavender sleeves, lace around the collar, and a lavender bow. I'm also wearing knee high socks and Mary Janes.

"Glory Rainbow," Rew says from the kitchen table, "Is there some sort of special event?"

"Yes," I say, "It's Friday." Even if I didn't have a crush on Ponyboy, I always doll myself up a little on Fridays.

* * *

When I walk into English class later in the day, I'm taken aback when I see that the desks and chairs have been rearranged, so that they're in rows and in groups of two.

I walk over to the chalkboard, where Mr. Syme has a crudely drawn picture of the classroom taped up on a piece of paper. I'm sitting in the front row, and-

My heart stops and my face heats up.

I'm sitting next to Ponyboy!

I take in a deep breath before I walk over and plop into my chair. I want this kid to notice me, why am I so nervous all of a sudden? Oh yeah,

Because I'm horrified that I'll say something stupid and scare him off.

Okay, uh...Just tell yourself you don't like him and you'll be fine! Okay, he's just a kid in your class, just another boy, no one special, he's just- crap there he is!

* * *

I walk into Mr. Syme's class and look around at the new seating arrangement, then I walk up to the picture that he has on the board.

I'm sitting in the front row sitting next to...Rainbow Swan.

Rainbow Swan, I don't see much of her, she's very quiet and keeps to herself most of the time.

I turn around and look at where I'm sitting, and-

Glo- _ry_.

I knew Rainbow Swan was a cute girl but gosh…

How did I overlook a face like _that_?!

I can't help it, my ears go hot as I walk over and sit next to her, it gets awkward very fast and I wonder if I should say anything, I'm half scared of her, I'm scared of all nice girls, especially socs or middle class, which is what she is.

I just sit there like a bump on a log, staring at my desk, before I hear a very faint, "Hi..."

I look over at Rainbow, she's looking at me and her face is slightly flustered, gosh she's pretty, especially her eyes.

"H-Hi..." I say, I hate the stutter in my voice but I can't help it. I've never acted like this around girls...but, this girl is different for some reason.

She gives me a small smile, it causes her cheekbones to become more defined and it makes her look even better looking. Then she brushes a lock of her hair behind her ear and I notice just how tuff her hair is. It seems longer and fuller than the other girls'.

It slips out before I can stop it, "You have more hair than any girl I've seen."

I look at my lap quickly and my ears go hot again, that had to have been the dumbest thing I could've said. Not ' _You have nice hair_ ', or ' _Your hair is tuff_ ', no, it had to be ' _You have more hair than any girl I've seen_ '...I'm such an idiot.

I look back at her reluctantly, but to my surprise she doesn't look mad, offended, or confused like I thought she would be, in fact, she looks flattered.

"Thanks, it took a while for me to get it this long." She says shaking her head so her hair bounces around her shoulders and back.

I smile at her, but before I can say anything else, I hear Mr. Syme telling the class to settle down, Rainbow and I turn to face the front of the class.

"Settle down, settle down, now. Starting today, the person that you're sitting next to will be your partner for a project."

Rainbow and I exchange glances.

"Now, for this project you and your partner will each choose your favorite book and write a paper explaining the differences about them. Now I want at least three pages," Everyone except Rainbow groans, "Two pages explaining what the stories are about, the other explaining the differences between the two, due next Friday."

After Mr. Syme gives us our instructions, the chatter in the classroom slowly starts up again.

"So Ponyboy," I look over at Rainbow, "What's your favorite book?" She asks.

I sit there for a moment, thinking of what story I like the best, when you read as much as I do, it's hard to choose just one.

"Hmm... _Gone with the Wind_." I finally say.

She smiles at me, "Good choice, I don't really have a favorite," Just like me! "But if I had to choose, it'd be _The Grapes of Wrath_."

I smile back at her, "That's a good one." I say.

We sit there for a moment in awkward silence, "So...uh, how do we want to...get together in order to do this project?" She asks, her cheeks going pink.

"Oh, um…" my face goes hot also, "Uh...we could..." My mind goes blank, what's wrong with me? ' _You've spoken to other girls before_ ,' I think, ' _Why can't you talk to this one_?'

"How about we meet up at the library?" She blurts out.

"...Good idea, are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Nope." she says after a moment

"Okay, so, when should we meet up?"

"Um...is twelve thirty too early?"

I think for a moment, "No."

"Okay good, it's a da-ooh, uh." Both of our faces burn.

* * *

I'm so stupid.

I'm late! I said that twelve thirty wasn't too early, but then I had to go and oversleep! Ugh, I don't use my head.

"Call me when you're done so I can pick you up." Darry calls after me.

"I will!" I call over my shoulder before I rush into the library.

Where is she? I hope she didn't get frustrated and leave. No, she wouldn't do that, she's too nice.

I look around before I see Rainbow at a table in the far back, she's bent over something, writing.

I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding and start to make my way over to her, as I get closer, I notice that she isn't writing, she's sketching. I don't know what she's sketching, but it's very colorful.

"Hi Rainbow." I say. She jumps slightly and looks up at me, flustered, with a small smile on her face.

"Hi Ponyboy." She says, closing her sketchbook and pushing it and her colored pencils out of the way.

"Sorry I'm late, I overslept." I explain, setting my bag down and sitting next to her.

"It's alright." She says, reaching into her bag and pulling out her copy of _The Grapes of Wrath_.

"Did you bring your book?" She asks, and I feel like the biggest idiot, because I forgot to tell her that I didn't own a copy of _Gone with the Wind_.

"Um, about that..." I say awkwardly, biting my lip.

"What? What is it?" She looks worried.

"I um...Don't really have my own copy."

Then I sit there, staring at my lap, waiting for the ' _Are you kidding me_ ' or ' _Why didn't you tell me you idiot_?' but instead, she pushes a copy of _Gone with the Wind_ at me, "Well, it's a good thing. Found you one."

I look at her, "Thank you." I say, relieved.

"No problem, now, we know what our stories are about, but we need to find the similarities and differences, finding the similarities is gonna be the hardest part." She explains.

I'm struck dumb, for a girl who barely speaks in class, she sure knows what she's doing, maybe this is why she's so quiet.

"Hmm," She says, resting her chin on her hand, thinking, "Well, one similarity is that they both show the struggles that families had to go through during those times."

* * *

After we found one similarity between the books, the work slowly but surely got easier and we actually got a lot done. We also decided to meet up at the library everyday after school until we finished, or Thursday, whichever came first.

The more we met up, not only did we get more work done, we learned more and more about each other, I found out that the picture she was sketching when I arrived late, was a sunset.

"You like sunsets?" I ask her, looking at her drawing, it's really good.

"I love them." She says dreamily, "Sadly I don't always have time to watch them, but when I do, I usually go outside to my swing and just sit there and watch it."

Where has this girl been all my life?

When Thursday rolls around, Rainbow and I are close to finishing our project. We found some more similarities, we just need another difference.

"Going back to the family thing," I say, "I noticed, in the _Grapes of Wrath_ that family is one of the most important things, while in _Gone with the Wind_ , keeping the plantation was the most important thing."

She looks at me for a moment before she smiles, "That's perfect!" She says, writing it down hastily.

"Okay..." She says after writing down the last word, "Ponyboy, we are done with our project." She says with a proud grin.

She quickly re-reads it, "Looks good, we chose two pretty good books, I'm glad none of us were stupid enough to choose Hemingway." She says, wrinkling her nose.

"Ugh, I don't like Hemingway."

"I hate him, his characters are flatter than the pages of his books!" She says.

We both laugh, "That's true." I say.

* * *

After that, we go outside and wait to be picked up, the conversation has somehow drifted to our families, I tell Rainbow about Soda and Darry and, a little reluctantly, my parents. She almost turns white after I tell her about their deaths.

"Oh my god Ponyboy." She says softly, "I'm so sorry."

I just nod, because you can't say 'It's okay' to that, loosing your parents isn't okay!

"So, your brother Sodapop," She says quickly, trying to change the subject, "I think I've seen him around...doesn't he work at a DX station?"

I nod.

"I thought so…mmm," I can tell that's she's trying to think of another conversation topic, "Tell me more about your brother Darry."

"What's there to talk about? He's big and handsome and likes to play football."

"Well, what's his personality like? You went into so much detail when you told me about Soda, and hardly said anything about Darry, what's he like?"

I bite my lip, what's Darry like? I'm about to tell her he's a good ol' guy, but I can't.

"Darry...He ain't like Soda and he sure ain't like me! He's hard as a rock and about as human! He likes Soda, everyone likes Soda, but he can't stand me! He'd put me in a boy's home in a heartbeat if Soda'd let him!"

Rainbow draws back slightly, her eyes wide, "I highly doubt that Ponyboy," She says softly, "What makes you say that?"

"Because he's always hollerin' at me! He hollers at me for everything! And he don't let up! He never yells at Soda, not even after he dropped out or gets speeding tickets! He just hollers at me!"

Rainbow looks at me, I can't read the look on her face, "Ponyboy, there's a reason he yells at you, he just wants what's best for you, he knows you're goin' places."

That's creepy, Soda told me almost the exact same thing not to long ago.

"So what's your family like?" I ask, my voice still has an edge to it.

Rainbow rolls her eyes slightly, then bites her lip.

"Well, I have six sisters...well they're not _really_ my sisters, they're my gang, but we're so close we call ourselves sisters, everyone is my older sister, except Pepper, I see her as my mom...despite the fact that she's only nine years older than me." She says, looking down shyly.

"What about your blood family?"

I knew I shouldn't have asked that the minute I see the look on her face; Her eyes are hard, her eyebrows are furrowed slightly and her lips are pursed. Her kind, sensitive aura she had is replaced with a cold, bitter one that just doesn't suit her.

"My blood family...I don't know who they are, 'cause..." She looks at me suddenly with a harsh glare, "Ponyboy you said that Darry would kick you out the door if he could?! Well, that's exactly what happened to me! My mother got rid of me! She didn't want me! She didn't love me and I sure as heck don't love her!"

It's my turn to draw back, I said I was scared of nice girls, but I'm terrified of nice, angry girls.

From the corner of my eye I see a car pull up in front of the library. Rainbow picks up her bag, "I'll see you tomorrow Ponyboy." She says bitterly before marching away.

* * *

I storm away from the library and toward Pepper's car, not looking back at Ponyboy once, I didn't mean to explode like that, I'm not mad at _him_ , it's just that my blood family is a very sensitive topic for me, it's a horrible feeling, knowing your own mother gave you up because she didn't love you.

I want Pepper, that's all I want, I just want Pepper, my _real_ mother, the mother who makes me feel loved, not the mother who abandoned me.

I see another car pull in front of the library as I get in the front seat, Hermann's sitting in the back for some reason.

"Hi Hon." Pepper says. Those two words take a load of anger off my shoulders, "Hi Pepper, hi Hermann." I add, buckling myself in.

"Hola Rainbow."

As we start to pull away from the library, I hear Hermann mutter something, "¿Quién es este hombre lindo?" (Who is this cute man?) I furrow my eyebrows and look in the back, Hermann's plastered herself against the window like a suction cup.

"Hermann, what in the world are you doing?" I ask.

"Rainbow? Who is that picking up Ponyboy?" Hermann asks, not taking herself off the window.

"Oh, that's his older brother Darrel, or Darry."

"Ooh, he's _cute_!" She purrs.

Oh boy…

 **AN: I ship both of them. :)**


	6. The Drive In

**AN: Sorry for the slight delay. This chapter was kinda hard to write, I had to keep looking at the book.**

The next day, I walk into English very slowly. I have to apologize to Ponyboy about yesterday, I hope he isn't too mad.

I walk over to our seats, "Ponyboy?" I ask, my voice soft, he looks up at me.

"I just wanted to apologize about yesterday, I wasn't mad at you per se, it's just that my blood family is a very sensitive topic for me and I have a hard time controlling my emotions when it comes to them, obviously." I say, rubbing the back of my head.

He looks at me for a moment before he gives me a small smile, "It's okay, it's understandable." He says.

I smile also and take my seat next to him.

After that English went on as usual, Pony and I turned in our project, we got an A. Yay!

* * *

Later on, back at home, I'm in my room sitting on my bed, reading _The Grapes of Wrath_ again when Rew walks in.

"Hey Rainbow." She says, plopping down on her bed.

"Hi Rew." I say, not looking up from my book.

"You have any plans for tonight?" she asks.

"Hmm..." I close my book and think for a moment, "No, I don't think so. Why?"

"'Cause I wanna go down to the Nightly Double and everyone else is busy. Peach and Hermann are going to a party, Tom is going to play some sports with her friends, Straight A's dad is acting weird-er, so she can't go, and Pepper has a date with Kevin."

Kevin Nigel is Pepper's boyfriend. He has short, neat black hair and warm brown eyes with horn rimmed glasses. I like him, he's very friendly, despite being very business-like.

"Sure, I'll go," I say, "I wanted to get out of the house a little bit anyway."

* * *

A little while later, Rew and I head down to the Nightly Double, it's cold, so we have to wear our jackets.

Since Rew doesn't have her own car, we walk in to one of the drive ins and sit in the seats that are in front of the concession stand after we get our snacks.

The movie eventually starts, it's one of those beach movies, Rew gives a disgusted groan, she hates beach movies because they have no plot, are ridiculous, and have too many girls in bikinis, that bugs her to no end.

"You gotta be kidding me," She groans, "I'm not watching this!"

"Rew, it just started, maybe this one'll be different." I say, because I know what's gonna happen, she's gonna get up and walk out on the movie entirely, she's done it before.

"No Rainbow, they're all the same. I'm gonna go see what's on at the other drive in."

I knew it.

"No! Rew this has happened before, it's not happening again! You're not leaving!"

"No I'm not, I'm gonna go to the other drive in, if you need me, just come find me."

I open my mouth, but no words come out, I'd be fighting a losing battle if I try to argue with her, so I just groan, "Fine."

"Thanks, now I'm just gonna be at the other drive in if you need me." She says, getting up and walking away.

I mutter under my breath and continue to watch the movie until I see two other girls sit in the seats not too far away from me. Hey, I know those girls! Marcia and Cherry! I can go sit by them.

I know Cherry and Marcia because I know their boyfriends, Bob and Randy. I like Marica okay, she can be real fun, but...I'm sorry, I hate Cherry Valance with a passion. I'm nice to her, and I'll talk to her, but I just can't stand her!

I get up and slowly make my way over to them, "Hi Marcia, hi Cherry." I say. They both look at me and smile.

"Hi Rainbow." They both say.

"Is it okay if I sit with you? Rew's at the other drive in so I'm here alone."

"Go ahead."

I smile and sit next to Marcia, then something dawns on me, "What are you two doing here without a car?" They've come here before, and they always bring a car.

Cherry lets out a frustrated sigh, "Bob and Randy brought us on a double date, then it turned out they brought booze along, so we just walked out on them." she explains.

"Oh no, not again." I groan. As much as I love Bob and Randy, they need to stop drinking, or at least get it under control! I wonder why they even sell alcohol to kids.

After that we just sit and watch the movie, I personally like beach movies, I think they're fun. From the corner of my eye I see someone sit behind us, but I don't pay him any mind.

Until he starts to talk.

I feel my face burn, he's talking very loud, and very dirty.

Cherry and Marcia notice him also. Cherry stiffens and starts to chew hard on her gum and Marcia just pretends not to hear him.

He starts off bad, but then he gets worse.

' _Make him stop_ ,' I beg in my mind, ' _Dear God please make him stop_!' I slowly start to sink lower in my seat.

And then, he puts his feet on the back of Cherry's chair and says the mother of all things dirty.

I think my face is going to burst into flame, ' _Mother_ , _of God_.' I think.

Cherry's had enough also, she turns around and gives him a cool stare, "Take your feet off my chair and shut your trap."

"Who's gonna make me?" The guy asks.

Marcia turns around in her seat also, "That's the greaser that jockey's for the Slash J sometimes." I hate the tone in her voice.

The guy doesn't seem to care, "I know you two, I've seen you around rodeos," He's silent for a moment, I feel his eyes on me, "I'm not sure about your little friend though."

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap! Don't turn around, don't make eye contact, don't say a word!

"It's too bad you can't ride bull half as good as you can talk it." Cherry says, turning back around.

"You two barrel race huh?" My God this guy doesn't stop.

"You better leave us alone," Cherry says in a biting voice, "Or I'll call the cops."

' _Or I'll get Rew_ ," I say in my head, " _And she'd be more than happy to beat the tar out of you_.'

"Oh my my," They guy says sarcastically, boredom laced in every word, "You've got me scared to death, you oughta see my record sometime baby, guess what I've been in for."

I blink. Is...is this who it think it is?

"Please leave us alone," Cherry says almost desperately, "Why don't you be nice and leave us alone?"

"I'm never nice. Want a Coke?" That sounds contradictory.

"I wouldn't drink it if I was starving in the desert!" _Starving_ in the desert? Really Cherry, really? "Get lost, _hood_!" Wow! Okay Cherry! Take in down a notch!

From the corner of my eye I see the guy shrug, then leave. "Oh thank God." I say aloud.

I glance over my shoulder to see if I can catch a glimpse of the guy, to if it's who I think it is, but instead of him, I see…

Ponyboy!

I do a double take, by this time he's noticed me, I send him a smile, he smiles back, I can tell that it's a slightly apologetic one.

He barely opens his mouth when Cherry speaks up, "Are _you_ gonna start in on us?"

I look at her and send her a glare, "Cherry!" I snap, "This guy's in my English class, he ain't gonna start in on us!"

She looks at me for a second before she looks back at Ponyboy and gives him a smile, "He doesn't look the type...what's your name?"

For some reason Pony looks hesitant, "Ponyboy Curtis."

Cherry smiles again, "That's an original and lovely name." She says and I suddenly feel this weird feeling in my gut...I don't know what it is.

"My dad was an original person, I've got a brother named Sodapop and it says so on his birth certificate."

He told me the exact same thing yesterday.

"My name's Sherri, but I'm called Cherry because of my hair. Cherry Valance."

"I know," Pony says, "We go to the same school, you're a cheerleader."

' _I'm in color guard ya know_!' I yell in my head.

"You don't look old enough to be goin' to high school," Marcia says, "Did you start early like Rainbow here?"

Pony sends me a small grin that takes away that odd feeling in my gut.

"No, I got put up a year in grade school." Wow

Cherry's looking at him, "What's a nice, smart kid like you hanging around trash like that for?"

My head snaps over, "Cherry!" I know that guy was a dirty talker, but that doesn't mean he's trash!

I see Ponyboy stiffen, "I'm a grease, same as Dally. He's my buddy."

Cherry looks somewhat apologetic, but I cut off her apology, "Dally? Um...That guy wasn't...Dallas Winston, was it?" I ask.

Pony looks at me, "Yeah..."

"I thought so!" I say, "I was just curious, 'cause it said that he was supposed to be in jail for ninety days."

"He got off early, good behavior." Pony explains.

"Aah, okay." I say with a slight grin, "Like I said, just curious."

Pony sends me another smile but before I can say anything else, Cherry says briskly, "So, your brother Sodapop, does he work at a gasoline station? A DX I think?"

"Yeah." Pony replies.

"Man your brother is one doll, I should've guessed you were brothers, you look alike."

At that moment I turn around to watch the movie, that odd, slightly uncomfortable feeling is back full force, I just watch the movie and drown out the conversation between Cherry and Ponyboy.

I hear someone sit down behind us about a minute later, I look over my shoulder to see if it's Dallas, but it isn't, it's another one of Pony's buddies. He looks around for a moment before he manages a shy "Hi..."

I smile, I've seen him around before, his name is Johnny I think, Johnny Cade. "Hello." I say cheerfully.

He looks at me and manages a small smile before he tries to watch the movie.

I turn back myself, I take a sip of my pop only to find that I drank it all, "Darn it." I mutter, throwing it into a nearby trashcan.

Dallas comes striding back a minute later with an armful of Cokes, he hands one to each of us, "This might cool you off." He says, sitting next to Cherry.

I can't help but smile, ' _See Cherry_ ," I say in my head, ' _He ain't all bad_.' I take a drink.

But then…

I hear a splashing sound and look over to see Dallas drenched in Coke, "That might cool _you_ off, greaser, and if you wash your mouth and learn to talk and act decent, I might cool off too!"

I don't believe it, one minute Cherry was perfectly fine talking to a 'greaser' the next minute she throws a Coke in another one's face...This is why I hate Cherry!

Dallas wipes the Coke off his face with the sleeve of his jacket and gives Cherry a smile...I feel my entire body go cold, it's a dangerous smile, and I don't like it.

"Fiery huh? Well that's just the way I like 'em."

He starts to put his arm around her, but Johnny reaches over and stops him, "Leave her alone Dally."

This takes Dallas off guard, "Huh?" He looks at Johnny with a look of disbelief.

Johnny gulps and gets a little pale, "You heard me, leave her alone."

Dallas scowls for a moment, before he gets up and stalks away, he doesn't come back.

Cherry and I let out relieved sighs, "Thanks. He had me scared to death." Cherry says.

Johnny gives her an admiring grin, "You sure didn't show it, nobody talks to Dally like that."

Cherry smiles at him, "From what I saw, you do."

I see Johnny's ears go red, Ponyboy's staring at him with disbelief also.

Marcia grins at them, "Ya'll come sit up here with us. You can protect us."

Pony and Johnny look at each other for a moment, "Okay," Pony says nonchalantly, "Might as well,"

They both get up to move up front with us; Johnny sits next to Cherry and Pony sits between Marcia and me.

"How old are ya'll?" Marcia asks.

"Fourteen." Pony says. Hey same as me!

"Sixteen." Johnny says.

"That's funny," Marcia says, "I thought you were both-"

"Sixteen." Cherry finishes.

Johnny grins, "How come ya'll ain't scared of us, like you were Dally?" he asks.

Cherry sighs, "You two are too sweet to scare anyone, first of all you didn't join in on Dallas's dirty talk, and you made him leave us alone. And when we invited you to sit up here with us, you didn't take it as an invitation to make out for the night. Besides, I've heard of Dallas Winston, and he looked as hard as nails and just as tough, but you two don't look mean."

' _Cause not all greasers are like that Cherry_ ,' I say in my head, ' _I've tried to tell you a million times_.'

"Sure," Pony says tiredly, "We're young and innocent."

For some reason I think that's the cutest thing and I can't help but giggle.

Cherry looks at him, "No, not innocent, you've seen too much to be innocent, just not...dirty."

"Dally's okay!" Johnny says defensively, and Pony nods in agreement, "He's tough, but he's a cool ol' guy."

"Yeah," I say, "I did kind of get that vibe from him, he was okay when he wasn't talkin' dirty."

Pony and Johnny smile at me, "He'd leave you alone if he knew you." Johnny says.

"Well," Marcia says with finality, "I'm glad he doesn't know us."

' _Yeah_ ,' I think, ' _If he had known us_ , _we wouldn't be sittin' here with free Cokes_.'

After that Pony asks us why we're here without a car, I tell them that I came with Rew, and Marcia and Cherry tell them what happened with Bob and Randy, but after that, we settle down to watch the movie.

As we sit there watching the movie, I see strong hands land on Pony and Johnny's shoulders, and I hear a gruff voice say, "Okay greasers, you've had it!"

Oh, I don't think so! I've had just about enough of this, I whirl around in my seat, "Listen here-" I start, but the words die in my throat, "Oh, it's you."

It's another one of Pony's buddies, Two-Bit Mathews, he's pretty well known around the school, you know for being eighteen and a junior in high school.

"Glory Two-Bit, scare us to death." Pony groans.

I look over at Johnny, he's white as a sheet and he's breathing oddly, but he manages a weak, "Hey, Two-Bit."

Two-Bit smiles and ruffles Johnny's hair, "Sorry kid," He says, "I forgot." he climbs over the seat and plops down beside me, "Who's this?...Hmm," He looks at Cherry and Marcia, "Well these two must be your great aunts," He looks at me, "And this one must be your guardian angel."

I can't help it, I burst into laughter.

* * *

"Unbelievable," Rew mutters, putting her cigarette lighter in her pocket and taking a drag of the cancer stick. She walked out on the other drive in movie also, seeing that the other movie was just as stupid, she decided to just mill around until the beach movie was over.

"Next time I'm goin' out, I'm goin' to the movie house...I hear they're playing _Rasputin the_ _M_ _ad Monk_...and I'm talkin' to myself."

She sighs and goes to take another drag of her cigarette when someone barrels into her, causing her to choke on her smoke, * **cough cough** * "Hey jackass! Watch where you're going!" she snaps.

She turns and glares at the guy, he doesn't look angry, like most guys are when she yells at them, he has an odd grin on his face.

"Sorry Doll-Face, didn't see ya there," The guy says, even though Rew knows it isn't a sincere apology. She just rolls her eyes and turns to walk away, when the man speaks again.

"Are you real?"

Rew blinks and turns to face him, "What the hell does that mean?"

"I mean...how do I find out if that's your real orange hair...is it the same orange hair you have on your..." He trails off.

Rew just sends him a smirk, "That's for me to know and for you to find out...and you _never_ will."

The guy smirks also.

"I know who you are," Rew explains "The infamous Dallas Winston."

Dally chuckles, "The one and only, baby."

Rew rolls her eyes, "You've got a death wish, talkin' to me like that." she says.

"Oh my," Dally says sarcastically, "You gonna call the cops? That don't scare me, Baby. You oughta see my record, guess what I've been in for."

"Oh, am I supposed to be impressed, son of a bitch?"

Dally just laughs.

"Besides," Rew continues, "I don't need the cops, I'll kick your ass myself if I have to." She says, walking away.

As Rew walks away, she gets a weird feeling down her back, she turns around to see Dally behind her, "You followin' me?" Rew asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yeah." Dally says simply.

"Are you gonna stop?"

Dally stops, but only for a moment, "No, don't think so."

Rew groans.

* * *

As we sit there watching the movie, Rainbow suddenly stands up, "Ponyboy, I'm outta popcorn, wanna come with me to get some?"

I jump up, "Sure! Ya'll want some?"

"I do." Marcia says, she's finishing the Coke Dally gave her, I realize then that Marcia, Cherry and Rainbow are different. Cherry said that she wouldn't have drank Dally's Coke if she was starving and she meant it. But Marcia and Rainbow saw no reason to throw away perfectly good, free Coke.

"Me too." Two-Bit says, he flips me a fifty cent piece, "Get Johnny some too, I'm buyin'." he ads as Johnny started to reach into his jeans pocket.

"What about you Cherry?" Rainbow asks.

"I'd like some, thanks." Cherry says, handing Rainbow a fifty cent piece also.

Rainbow and I walk to the concession stand and as usual, there's a line a mile long, so we have to wait. Quite a few kids turn to look at us, you didn't see a kid grease and a Soc-y color guard team member together often.

As we wait in line, I feel Rainbow's eyes on me, but before I can ask her what's up, she reaches over and pulls the collar of my sweatshirt down slightly.

"What happened there Pony?" she asks. She's referring to the cut that I have on my neck.

I go cold, "I was jumped," I say, rougher than intended.

I see Rainbow go white, "Oh-...Oh my god, when?!"

"Yesterday, a little after school, I went to the movie house, and as I was walking home, I was jumped by five socs..." I look around nervously because there are plenty of socs milling around, some of them are giving me funny looks, as if I shouldn't be with Rainbow or something.

I continue nonetheless, "...one of them held a blade against my throat and as I yelled for help the blade slipped while the socs tried to shut me up..." I trail off, remembering the voice, " _Need a haircut_ , _greaser_?"

"Ponyboy?" I snap back into reality when I hear Rainbow's voice. I look over at her, she's looking at me with a look of concern. I nearly forgot she was listening.

"Sorry," I say, "I'm okay."

"You know Ponyboy...I was jumped myself not to long ago."

I can't help but double take, who would jump Rainbow? _Why_ would they jump Rainbow?

"When?" I ask.

"About a month ago," She says, "I was walking home from the drugstore, when I was jumped by about five soc-y girls."

"But...why? I mean, you're a soc too!"

"I'm middle class," She says, "And these girls jumped me because they _really_ don't like me."

After that we drop the topic completely, it isn't fun thinking about a time you were jumped.

After we get our popcorn I turn to Rainbow, "We better get back or Two-Bit'll think we eloped to Mexico." She laughs and we make our way back.

 **AN: Just a quick FYI, Dally is nineteen here. 'Cause for some reason I always thought that's how old he was in the book. :/**


	7. Hallelujah

**AN: Oh boy this chapter was fun to write...and by fun, I mean tedious.**

After the movie was over, I say goodbye to the others and head over to the other drive in to look for Rew. But there's a problem.

She isn't here!

"Rew?" I call, no answer, "Rew!" I call, louder this time. Where is she?

I search the entire drive in, then the concession stands, and the bathrooms, no sign of her anywhere, did she leave the Nightly Double entirely?! That's not like her at all!

I groan and walk out into the main area, then I see Cherry, Marcia and the others, I jog over to them, "Hey, what're you two doing?" I ask.

"Well, since we really don't have a ride, Two-Bit offered to walk us to his house and give us a ride home." Marcia explains.

"You mind if I tag along?"

Cherry blinks, "What about Rew?"

I shrug, "I don't know where she is, I searched the entire drive in."

"You can come, we don't mind." Ponyboy says brightly.

I smile at him, "Thanks."

* * *

As we walk to Two-Bit's place to get his car, we all break out into conversations, the conversation drifts to music. The boys think The Beatles are rank and Elvis is tuff, while the girls like The Beatles and think Elvis is out.

"What about you, Rainbow?"

I snap out of my thoughts and look at Ponyboy, "Huh?"

"Who do you like, Elvis or The Beatles?"

I bite my lip and look around, "Neither," I say. They all look at me, surprised, "I don't hate them!" I say hastily, "But I'm not really a fan of either of them...I'm more into Jerry Lee Lewis."

"Huh, didn't see that coming." Marcia says.

"Why do you like him Rainbow?" Cherry asks.

I roll my eyes, "Because he's fun. He's exciting! He set his piano on fire then proceeded to play it!" I tell them, "And if that wasn't enough, he's a lot of fun to dance to."

After that, the conversation somehow drifts to socs and greasers, or the differences at least, I'm very interested in this topic for some reason.

Ponyboy thinks that money is the thing that separates the socs from the greasers, but Cherry and I disagree.

"No," Cherry says slowly, "It's not just money, part of it is, but not all, you greasers-"

' _You greasers_?' I say in my head, ' _Seriously Cherry_?'

"-have a different set of values, you're more emotional, we're sophisticated, cool to the point of not feeling anything, nothing is for real with us. You know, sometimes I'll catch myself talkin' to a girlfriend and realize I don't mean half of what I'm sayin'."

I ignore the last part of Cherry's explanation and cut in to the conversation, "I'm sorry Cherry, but there I have to disagree with you, money does play a part, yes, and emotions play a part, yes, but I think the real reason for us bein' separated...is stereotypes."

They both look at me, "Look at us, we're grouping ourselves into these groups just because of accusations, half truths, rumors, anything. I've heard people say that socs are preppy, at the top and get all the breaks, and I've heard people say that greasers are dirty, mean hoodlums...but why do people say this?"

I look at Ponyboy, "That's where money comes in, me being a middle classer, you notice a few things about the other groups, I have soc friends and I have greaser friends, and I have to say, some of the stuff I've heard is mostly untrue, but the problem is that people _usually_ go by looks..."

I turn to Cherry, "Now, going back to what you said, emotions do play a role, but not really in the way you describe...Well, kinda...but I think the biggest reason is peer pressure, since we're sorted into these groups we feel compelled to act a certain way, we can't be ourselves because people expect us to act a certain way."

After finishing my explanation, I look at Cherry and Ponyboy. Cherry's looking at me, impressed, while Ponyboy is staring at me with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape, "That...that makes so much sense." He says.

"Rainbow how do you know all of this?" Cherry asks.

I just shrug, "I'm an observer. Like I said, when you're in the middle, you notice a few things." I smile slightly.

We hear Marcia gasp suddenly, "Cherry, look what's coming."

We look down the street and I feel myself blanch when I see a blue Mustang driving down the street, I hear Johnny make an odd sound, but I have my sights set on the Mustang. I've seen Bob and Randy when they were tipsy, like Randy was at Samantha's party, but I've never seen them when they were full on drunk.

"What are we going to do?" Marcia asks nervously.

Cherry bites one of her nails, "Stand here, there's not much else we can do."

"Who is it?" Two-Bit asks, "The FBI?"

"No," Cherry says bleakly, "It's Bob and Randy."

"And," Two-Bit says grimly, "A few other of the socially elite checkered shirt set."

Two-Bit's comment makes me a little mad, I had nearly forgotten that greasers stereotype socs also.

"Your boyfriends?" Johnny asks.

Cherry starts to walk down the sidewalk, "Maybe they won't see us, act natural."

"Who's acting?" Two-Bit grins, "I'm a natural normal!"

I turn to face him and blink, "Two-Bit no offense...but that didn't make any sense." Ponyboy laughs from beside me.

"Oh hush up." Two-Bit says to us.

The Mustang passes us slowly and drives right on by, Marcia sighs in relief, "That was close."

I look over at Johnny and can't help but double take, all of us, except for Two-Bit, had gotten a little nervous when the Mustang drove past us, but Johnny looks like he's suffered a mini heart attack.

I grab Ponyboy and kind of pull him away from the others, "Ponyboy, what's wrong with Johnny?" I ask in a whisper, "I've never seen anyone look so scared in my life."

Ponyboy bites his lip, "He was jumped also...a few months ago."

I draw back, how many of these guys were jumped?!

"What...what happened?"

Pony inhales and begins to tell me what happened, speaking softly, yet quickly. It's horrible, I go whiter than I was a minute ago. Then I think things over

Pony said a blue Mustang pulled up beside the lot where Johnny was...and guy wearing three heavy rings nearly beat Johnny to unconsciousness...I bite back a gasp.

Bob wears three heavy rings like that!

No...no no no no no no no! Not Bob! It can't be, Bob wouldn't do that to anyone...would he?...Was Randy with him? Did he try to stop him, or did he help?! Were they drunk?! Were the other guys with them?!

My head begins to spin as more questions pop up. I remember discussing alcohol in health class. Some people say that alcohol blinds you, turns you into someone else, but other people say that alcohol shows one's true colors. It has different effects on different people.

What effect does it have on Bob and Randy? Does it blind them? Does it make them show their true colors? What side did Johnny see?...What side do I know? The genuine side, or the phony side? Do they pretend to be nice? Do they actually hate greasers like some of the others?

"Rainbow?" I snap out of my thoughts, Pony's staring at me concernedly, "Huh? What?" I ask.

"Are you okay?" he asks, "You stopped walking, your eyes went wide and you're white as a sheet...You look like you've seen a ghost."

I'm trembling also, and I feel nauseous, "I-I'm okay." I lie, starting to walk again.

I hear Cherry suddenly, "Well," she says resignedly, "They've spotted us."

My head snaps over, I see the Mustang drive up beside us and stop, I get nervous as Bob and Randy get out of the front seats and I can't help it, I back into the shadows and cross my arms, grabbing my biceps.

"Cherry, what's goin' on? What're you doing?" Bob asks angrily. Cherry just stares at him cooly, so he continues, "Look just because we got a little drunk doesn't mean-"

Cherry cuts him off angrily, "A little?! You call reeling and passing out in the streets "a little"?! Bob I told you I'm never going out with you when your drinking and I mean it! Too many things could happen when you're drunk! It's me or the booze!"

Randy turns to Marcia, "Baby, you know we don't get drunk very often..." When Marcia gives him a cold stare, he gets angry, "And even if you are mad at us, that's no reason to go walkin' the streets with these _bums_."

I feel like I was just punched in the stomach. He said he didn't care...He didn't care if you were a soc or a greaser.

"Who you callin' bums pal?" Two-Bit asks.

"You!" Randy snaps, "Listen greasers, we got four more of us in the backseat."

Suddenly, Two-Bit picks up a pop bottle, smashes the end of it off and hands it to Ponyboy, then he pulls out his switchblade. "Pity the backseat!" He snaps.

I feel sick, my eyes dart between the two of them.

"Stop it!" Cherry exclaims.

"If you're looking for a fight-" Randy starts.

"I AM LOOKIN FOR A FIGHT!" Two-Bit yells.

"COME ON LET'S GO!" Randy yells.

"RIGHT NOW!" "COME ON" "RIGHT NOW!"

"STOP IT!" Cherry yells, "Alright, we'll go with you! Just wait a minute."

"Why, we ain't scared of these bastards!" Two-Bit says.

Cherry turns to him, "I hate fights alright, I hate 'em."

' _You're not the only one_.' I say in my head. I watch Cherry pull Ponyboy to the side for something and by now Randy's noticed me, no use hiding now.

I step out from the shadows, just in time to hear Cherry say, "I hope I never see Dallas Winston again, if I do...I'll probably fall in love with him." I look over at her and my eyebrows go to my hairline. Before they get into the car, I call after Cherry and Marcia, "Bye Marcia, bye Cherry."

"Bye Rainbow." Marcia says.

"Goodb-" Cherry's cut off by Randy, "Rainbow, you're comin' too."

My head snaps over, "What? Why?!" I ask in disbelief.

"Cause I don't want any of my friends walkin' the streets with these bums!"

I look at Randy and glare at him slightly, "No, I'm staying with them."

Randy looks at me with a look of angry shock, "Why?" He asks.

My glare hardens, "Because I want to."

Randy's glare hardens also, "But they're just a bunch of greasers."

I explode.

"BEING A GREASER DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT RANDY!" I scream, making him back up a step. I can see Bob and the others looking at me with shocked expressions, I've never blown up like this before.

"Don't try to use the social groups to convince me to come with you because it won't work, you know for a fact that I don't care what social group you're in, I like everyone the same, we're all human beings here," I feel tears prick my eyes and a lump grow in my throat, "And I thought you felt the same."

After that I turn and race down the sidewalk as fast as I can go, hot tears spilling down my face, I don't know where I'm going honestly, my legs are in autopilot mode, all I know is that I want to get as far away from Bob and Randy as I possibly can.

* * *

I eventually reach the park, I run over to the fountain and collapse onto it, panting and crying.

I stand up and look into the water of the fountain. I don't get it, why were Bob and Randy acting like this? This wasn't like them...or was it? I don't know anymore...all I know is that those weren't my best friends back there...I don't know who they were.

By now I've stopped crying, and I'm just staring at the fountain's water, I'm almost numb, it's an odd feeling.

I sigh, maybe if I sing I'll calm down, that's usually my calming method, I clear my throat before I start to sing,

"Well I heard there was a secret chord

That David played and it pleased the Lord

But you don't really care for music, do you?

Well it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth

The minor fall and the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah"

I turn around and sit against the fountain, looking up slightly, my eyes closed.

"Your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof

Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you

She tied you to her kitchen chair

She broke your throne and she cut your hair

And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah"

For some reason I think of the socs and greasers. How the socs are always telling the greasers to cut their hair, Ponyboy told me that the long hair was the greasers' trademark, they're very proud of it.

"Baby I've been here before

I've seen this room and I've walked this floor you know

I used to live alone before I knew you

And I've seen your flag on the marble arch

And love is not a victory march

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah"

That verse reminds me of the incident that just occurred.

There was a time when you let me know

What's really going on below

But now you never show that to me, do you?

But remember when I moved in you

And the holy dove was moving too

And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Hallelujah"

I feel like crying again because this verse reminds me of Bob, Randy and I.

"Maybe there's a God above

All I've ever learned from love

Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you

And it's not a cry that you hear at night

It's not somebody who's seen the light

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah"

I open my eyes to sing the last thirteen "Hallelujahs", and scream.

There's Ponyboy, standing there with a grin.

"Jesus Christ Ponyboy!" I say, putting my hand on my heart and blushing, "H-how much did you hear?!" I've always been self conscious about my singing voice.

"Enough...you're a good singer."

"Thanks..." I say, then I blink, "Where's Johnny and Two-Bit?"

"Off doing their own thing." His smile fades, "Anyway...I came to see if you were okay."

I groan, "Not gonna lie, I've been better."

He walks over at sits next to me, "Pony, do you know why some of us are called 'middle class'?" I ask him.

"Well, I guess it's because you're not poor like the greasers, but you don't have a lot of money like the socs...you're in the middle."

"Yeah," I say bitterly, "We're in the middle alright...but not when it comes to money. We're in the middle when it comes to friends. Pony, you remember when we talked about social groups? Well, here's the thing, greasers have their greaser friends, and socs have their soc friends, but when you're in the middle, you sometimes have to mix with the other groups."

I look him in the eye, "Or to put it another way...it's a tug of war...and we're the rope! That's how I feel anyway...but I guess you already knew that."

Ponyboy just nods and looks away, "Things are rough all over." He says softly, but I can't tell if he's saying that to me or himself.

"It sure is." I say.

We sit there for a moment before I stand, "Come on, we both better head home before we get into trouble." I say.

Pony smiles slightly and nods in agreement before he stands also.

We walk for a few minutes before we reach the outskirts of Ponyboy's neighborhood, he looks at me, "Are you sure you're gonna be okay? One of my brothers can drive you."

I send him a smile, "I'll be fine, but you better get back."

"Yeah, or Darry'll kill me." He says, turning to look at his house.

I sigh, "I'll see you around Pony." I say, turning and walking away.

"Bye." he calls.

"Bye." I say, not looking back.

* * *

After a few minutes I make it home, I yawn because a wave of fatigue hits me. I walk inside and kick off my shoes, "I'm home." I call.

Pepper looks at me, "Hi Hon...where's Rew?"

I shrug, "Dunno, she didn't like the movie that was playing in the drive in, so she went to the other one, but when I went to get her she was gone." I explain.

Pepper sighs, "I'll have a word with her...Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm just gonna turn in." I say, heading toward my room.

"Okay, goodnight Honey."

"Goodnight."

 **AN: I had to do a research project on** **stereotypes in English class (Why we read _The Outsiders_ in the first place), needless to say if I hadn't done that paper, this chapter would have been very different. Also, I know "Hallelujah" Didn't come out till the 80s, but it was too perfect for the situation I had to use it. ;)**


	8. Georgia

**AN: I got stuck on this chapter for the longest time. -.-**

When I wake up the next morning, my eyes are dry and itchy, and I feel completely drained...and I have no idea why.

But then I remember…

Last night's memories come flooding back and the realization hits me like a freight train. I let out a half groan/half whine and cover my head with my pillow. That had to have been one of the worst nights of my life.

After a few minutes I decide to get up. I toss my pillow off of me and sit up just as the door to the room opens and Rew walks in.

"Mornin' Rew." I say, swinging my legs over the side of my bed.

"Mornin' Bow, hey, uh...I'm sorry about last night." She says, sitting on her bed.

"Where were you?" I ask, curious.

"Well, the movie in the other drive in was stupid so I decided to walk around the Nightly Double for a while... Then I met someone."

"Who'd you meet?" I ask, putting my elbows on my knees.

"You're not gonna believe it...But I met Dallas Winston." She says, like I wouldn't believe it.

"Cool, so did I, he sat behind us at the other drive in and began to talk very dirty, then afterward he bought me and my friends Cokes...turns out he's one of Ponyboy's buddies." I tell her.

"Haha...I ran into him as I was wandering around and he began to follow me, then we started to have...sort of a conversation," She says, lying down and looking at the ceiling.

"You had a conversation with Dallas Winston?" I ask, remembering the interactions between him and Cherry.

"Sorta, it was mainly a mix of insults, bragging...and pick-up lines."

I raise my eyebrows.

"Yup...either I hate his guts or I'm falling in love with him."

Let's put it to the test then, "Really? Cherry said something similar last night." I say innocently.

Rew sits up quickly, her eyes wide, "What?!" her mouth snaps shut, "...I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"Yup." I say, standing up and walking out of my room.

I walk out into the hallway and toward the kitchen, not everyone is there today because it's Saturday and I slept later than I do on weekdays.

"Morning Honey." Pepper says. She's still sitting at the table, drinking her coffee.

"Morning Pepper." I say, sitting down and grabbing myself a scone.

"I made your favorite." Pepper explains, gesturing to the scone, "Chocolate and raspberry."

I take a big bite, I didn't realize how hungry I was until now.

* * *

After I eat breakfast and do my other morning rituals, I go back into my room and lie on my bed.

I can't get last night out of my head. I'm confused, but...other than that I'm not really feeling anything, it's odd.

I flip over on my stomach and put my pillow over my head again, trying to think things through, but it's hard to in this noisy house.

Hermann's blasting her music loudly again, Peach stubbed her toe on one of Rew's weights, so now they're bickering and Pepper's trying to break them up, and on top of that someone has the TV turned up.

"UGH!" I scream into the mattress before I sit up, "That's it! I have to get out of this house!" I say to myself, standing up and going to get my shoes.

I grab my purse and put _The Grapes of Wrath_ and some money into it, because I don't know what I'm going to do when I leave.

I walk out of my room and into the living room, "Pepper, I'm going out." I say.

"O-okay Hon be care- Rew, Peach that is enough!"

I roll my eyes and walk outside. Who knows where I'll end up.

* * *

I end up in the cafe again. I walk over and sit in a booth before I grab a menu, I just ate breakfast so I'm not hungry...I'll just order a drink.

"What can I get for you?" A waitress asks.

"Oh uh...just a sweet tea." I say.

She writes that down on her notepad, "Alright, I'll have that right out."

I nod and go back to staring into space, deep in thought, thinking back to last night.

I feel so betrayed by both of them. Bob and Randy I mean. I thought I knew everything about them...guess I don't.

But...is it weird that I feel more betrayed by Randy? Even though Bob is the one who nearly beat Johnny to unconsciousness. Then again...Bob never came out and told me he didn't care...I just always assumed he did. But, Randy had always told me he didn't care, and that he liked people for who they were...like I do.

I snap out of my thoughts when I hear a voice, "Here you go Sweetie." The waitress says, setting down my tea.

"Oh, thank you." I say.

I sigh before I reach over to grab my sweet tea, only I over-reach and it falls over.

"Oh darn it!" I say, picking up the cup and quickly grabbing some napkins.

A girl who had been walking past me stops and turns to me, "Need a little help, Honey?"

"Uhh..." I look at the spill, by now it's spread and is dripping off the table "...Sure."

She reaches over and grabs some napkins before she kneels down and wipes up the tea that's on the floor, while I wipe up what's on the table.

When the girl stands up to help me get the ice into the cup, I get a view of her face. I kind of tilt my head, "Hey...I know you, we go to the same school… You're Georgia Mills, right?"

Georgia Mills is hands down one of the most popular girls in school. She has it all; good looks, money, a great personality, and a ton of friends. She's a grade above me, so I figure she must about fifteen or sixteen. She has dark skin, long, shiny black hair, and dark blue, almost black eyes...not to mention a body most girls would kill for!

She grins, "That's right!" She says, sitting down in the seat across from me to help wipe up the rest of the tea.

After a few minutes we wipe up the tea, and the waitress brings me another one.

"Thanks." I say, "And I'm sorry, I-I'm just out of it today."

Georgia looks at me and smiles, "Don't worry about it Sugar Cube, you're only human."

I smile weakly, Georgia continues, "So anyway, what's your name? I never asked."

"Oh...Rainbow, Rainbow Swan."

She smiles, "That's a beautiful name."

"Thank you." I say.

"So, if you don't mind by my asking...What's the matter?"

"Oh! Oh...um," I sigh and rest my chin on my hand, "I'm having issues with some of my friends."

Georgia exhales through her nose and nods understandingly, "Yeah, me too."

I look at her and tilt my head, "Really?...W-what's the matter?"

She sighs and leans back onto the booth, "It's my boyfriend, things have been rough between us as of recent…So I'm thinking about dumping him." She explains, before looking back at me, "What about you?"

I groan, "Well, I have these two friends, not mentioning names, and...we get... _got_ along great! They're like my big brothers, we're very close. But here's the thing, they're nice, funny, smart, and all in all great guys...but then...last night they got drunk...and they turned into demons!"

Georgia sits up, interested, while I continue, "Well, before last night, one of my friends always said he didn't care if you were a soc or a greaser...and I thought the same about the other one. But last night, they began to bully some boys because they were greasers...and to make matters worse...one of the 'greasers' was nearly beaten to unconsciousness by my other friend a few months ago."

Georgia is staring at me, eyes wide, "Oh my goodness, that's horrible!"

I nod, "I feel like I don't know them anymore...I don't know what…'side'," I do the air quotes, "I know; The real side, or the phony side!" I feel tears prick my eyes again but I wipe them away impatiently, "I feel so betrayed."

"I can see why." Georgia says.

"What should I do?" I ask her.

"Well, what does your heart tell you to do? What does your gut tell you to do?" She asks.

"Well, part of me wants to forgive them, a big part actually, but I'm just so mad at them-"

"You said they were drunk?" she interrupts suddenly.

"Huh?...Yeah," I say, "Drunker than I've seen them."

"Well, maybe what they did was because of the alcohol-"

It's my turn to interrupt her, "That doesn't help! I've heard that alcohol can make someone show their true colors...or blind them." I say.

"There! Right there! You don't know what effect it has on them! You're only assuming what the alcohol does to them!"

I inwardly cringe, thinking back to last night, when I explained stereotypes to Cherry and Ponyboy...I remember my words, _"...J_ _ust because of accusations, half truths, rumors, anything."_ I'm making accusations too! But not when it comes to social groups...

"You..." I sigh, "You're right..."

"Listen here, Sugar Cube..." She says, placing her hand on mine and giving me a smile, "Talk to them, hear their side of the story."

"...I will."

* * *

After that we just talk about our day to day lives, I tell her about my sisters and she tells me about her two older brothers.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here, my brothers were making so much noise and I couldn't think, so I had to get out of the house."

"Haha! That's exactly what happened to me!" I tell her, taking another drink of my sweet tea.

We spend pretty much all day there, until I grab my purse and stand up, "You leavin' Sugar Cube?" Georgia asks.

"Yeah, my sister'll get worried if I'm not home before sun down."

"You gonna be okay walkin' alone?"

"Yeah, I only live a few blocks away." I turn and head toward the exit, but then look back and wave, "Bye Georgia!"

She waves also, "Bye Sugar Cube. See you at school!"

* * *

A few minutes later, Georgia decides that she better get home before her parents get worried.

She walks out of the cafe and heads down to the bus stop, but when she gets there, she sees a man with very light blonde hair walking briskly away from a nearby parking lot, and she notices that he has a piece of broken pipe.

She raises an eyebrow and stares after him before she hears several voices. She turns back to the parking lot and sees a group of people standing around a car. Walking closer, she sees that there are holes in the car's tires.

"Oh dear..." She mutters before walking closer, "If it's any consolation boys," She starts, they all turn to look at her and give her strange looks, most likely because it wasn't often a soc talks too nicely to a group of greasers, "I saw a man with very light blonde hair-"

She's cut off by one of the members of the gang "Winston!" He snaps, "Which way did he go?"

"Uh...that way." Georgia says, pointing in the direction she saw Dally walking.

The man just nods and gestures for the others to follow him, but one of them stays behind, he's about Georgia's age, fifteen, with curly black hair, he's staring at Georgia with a slight grin, "Thanks toots." He says.

"Curly! Come on!"

"Comin' Tim!" Curly takes one last look at Georgia before he runs after Tim and the gang.

Georgia had made a face when Curly called her 'toots' but the look fades and she feels her face go hot, then she makes her way back to the bus stop, "That had to have been one of the _hottest_ boys I've ever seen." She whispers to herself.

 **AN: Curly and Georgia...That's gonna be interesting to say the least.**


	9. No means no

**AN: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. :)**

A few days later, it's time for me to go back to school, and to be honest, I'm dreading today like the plague.

I told Georgia that I would talk to Bob and Randy, so I could hear their side of the story and kind of understand the situation a little more.

Easier said than done.

"Rainbow are you okay?" Straight A asks as we walk to school, "You've been very quiet...a little _too_ quiet."

"I'm okay." I tell her, "It's just Monday."

I never told the girls about Friday night, probably because I didn't want to think about it, and because they would hunt Bob and Randy down for hurting me like this, they've never been too fond of Bob and Randy.

* * *

After I get to school, my day goes on as usual, I say hi to Georgia in the hallway, and I have a nice conversation with Ponyboy in English, me apologizing about Bob and Randy's behavior, I forgot to Friday.

"It's alright." He says a little sadly, "I'm used to it."

Oh good God that's sad! "I wish you weren't." I tell him, "No one should have to go through that...especially you."

We both look at each other and blush, he sends me a weak smile, "Thank you." he says.

After class, Ponyboy and I walk out of the classroom together, when someone walks up to me. It's Elise.

"Hey Rainbow." She says, "Uh, I ran into Bob earlier and he wants you to meet him outside the cafeteria, said he wants to talk to you."

I feel myself go cold, I had nearly forgotten about that, "Oh great." I say sarcastically.

"What does he want to talk to you about?" Pony asks as we continue to walk down the hallway.

I sigh, "I don't know, but I have a hunch it has something to do with Friday night."

Pony bites his lip slightly, "Oh boy."

* * *

I have a hard time concentrating during third and fourth period, I'm wondering what Bob wants to talk about. I know it has something to do with Friday night, but I don't know _what_ exactly.

When the lunch bell rings, I head to the cafeteria's entrance, let's get it over with.

I wait by the entrance and watch the other kids go in, but there's no sign of Bob. I lean on the wall and cross my arms, ' _I'll wait for a few minutes_ , _but then I'm going in_.' I think.

The crowd of kids slowly gets thinner, until I'm all by myself. "That's it." I say, going to walk in also.

"Hey, hey! Rainbow, wait a minute!" I turn back around and see Bob jogging toward me before skidding to a halt.

"Alright, I'm here, so talk." I snap, not giving him a chance to open his mouth. My anger is back pretty much full force, I need answers.

He pants for a moment before he straightens up, "Listen, I'm sorry about last Friday-"

I cut him off angrily, "Yeah! You should be!"

He overlooks this, I can see it in his eyes, he knows how badly he messed up. "It's just that Randy and I wanted to have some fun, and we wanted Cherry and Marcia to try some...and when they walked out on us we got angry...we didn't mean to get as drunk as we did."

I give him a look, "Yeah _suuuure_! You didn't mean to! I'm sure the booze just walked up to you and said, 'Hey, drink until you feel like picking on lower class boys is the best thing in the world!'" I don't know where this is coming from, Bob's giving me a look, it's slightly apologetic, but I can tell he's thinking ' _You're crazy_.'

I continue my rant nonetheless, "And I'm sure it did the same thing six months ago! When you nearly beat a kid to unconsciousness, also cutting up his face in the process!" I see Bob cringe slightly.

"I didn't mean-"

"Do you know what Bob?" I say, "I can't do this, I can't just stand by and watch you tear yourself and others apart because of your drinking!...I want you to stop, no more drinking...all of these things happen whenever you're drunk and I think that's the biggest issue, you're a good person at heart...you and Randy both, and I don't know what drives you to do these stupid things, but you _need_ to stop before you get yourself killed!"

Bob's staring at me, I can't read the expression on his face, "A-Are telling me no?" He asks.

I blink, what kind of stupid question is that?! "Wha-...Not only no but _hell no_! Bob you're gonna get yourself killed one day if you continue to act like this! I'm gonna say it one more time just to get it through your head, no! No. More. Drinking! Because not only does it hurt you, it hurts the people around you, and I can't go on knowing that you-..." I look at him, "Why are you smiling?" I ask, annoyed.

He doesn't answer, he just ruffles my hair, smiling still, "Thanks kid, I needed to hear that." he says before he makes his way in to the cafeteria.

I stand there, frozen.

" _What_?"

* * *

My day pretty much goes on as usual after my encounter with Bob, until seventh period, which I have with Randy. Needless to say it was very awkward, we didn't speak and I didn't look at him throughout the entire period.

When class ended, I grabbed my stuff and ran from the room without waiting for Randy like I normally do.

But as Straight A and I begin to walk down the sidewalk away from the school, we both jump when we hear a car's horn honk at us. I whirl around to see a blue Mustang following us, it's completely empty aside from the driver, I groan.

"Who is it?" Straight A asks, she didn't turn around like I did.

"It's Randy." I half groan.

"What's he want?" She asks, looking over her shoulder.

"I don't know...but I'm about to find out." I add as the Mustang sort of pulls in front of us, and the passenger window rolls down.

"Rainbow!" Randy calls as I reach the window, "I need to talk to you!"

I glare at him slightly, "What about?"

"Rainbow please just get it the car!"

I groan and look at Straight A, who's glaring at Randy also, then she looks back at me, "Your choice." She says.

My mouth opens and I look between Randy and Straight A, "Just go with him Rainbow, I'll be alright walking alone." Straight A finally says, knowing how much I hate choosing sides.

"...Alright, thanks, be careful." I tell her.

"I will, see you at home." she says, turning to walk away before turning back for a moment, "You be careful also." She says quietly, eyeing Randy.

"Don't worry, he won't hurt me...not so sure about me not hurting him though." I mutter, turning and walking toward the Mustang.

I open the door and get in the front seat, setting my bag on my lap and pulling on the seatbelt. After I close the door, we slowly drive away from the school, we don't say a word to each other, it's the same awkward, uncomfortable silence that occurred in science class.

After a few minutes of driving, we pull into a random empty lot, not the lot Ponyboy and his gang tend to hang out it, but a parking lot.

"Okay," I say, turning to face Randy, "I'm guessing you want to talk about Friday night?" I ask, raising an eyebrow, "Well, Bob already told me what you two did."

"I know, he told me." Randy says, "I just wanted to apologize myself."

For some reason, that sets me off, "You know somethin' Randy?" I snap, "You and Bob can apologize all you want! But that ain't gonna fix what's been broken! You broke my heart that night!"

Randy cringes and looks at his lap, but doesn't say anything. And that makes me realize something...until now I had forgotten that Randy is a bit more sensitive than Bob is.

Part of me feels bad, but I'm so angry that I continue anyway, "I thought you didn't care! You told me you didn't care what class you're in, that you like people for who they are! Well...what the hell happened to you Friday night?!"

I see Randy sigh, "I...I wasn't yelling at those boys because they were greasers, Rainbow." he says.

I furrow my eyebrows slightly, "Yet you called them 'Bums' and 'Greasers'."

Randy gives a slightly frustrated sigh, "I was just mad because they were with Cherry and Marcia, _not_ because they were greasers!"

I let out one of those "Yeah right" laughs.

"I'm telling the truth! You gotta believe me! Look," he groans, "I'm sick and tired of all this...the fighting I mean, it's pointless, but no one seems to get it! They can't win, the greasers, they don't seem to know that, it doesn't matter if they whip us in a rumble they'll still be where they were before, at the bottom, and we'll still be the lucky ones at the top with all the breaks. So all this fighting is for nothing, greasers will still be greasers and the socs will still be socs."

I don't say anything.

"You know, sometimes I think you and the other middle classers are the _real_ lucky ones."

My head snaps over and I give him a disbelieving, angry glare, "Oh you did _not_ just say that! You can't say that after what happened Friday night! You have no idea what I have to go through! I always have to choose what friends I hang out with, I can't hang out with all of them because they hate each other! We're not the lucky ones Randy, there _are_ no lucky ones," I think back to Ponyboy's words, " _Things are rough all over_."

"And there's something else I have to tell you." I continue, "You and Bob have to stop drinking! I don't know if he told you about this or not-"

"He did." Randy interrupts.

"And while we're on the subject of Bob," I say, "I think he's off his rocker," I turn to look out the window, "I was chewing him out, telling him he needed to stop drinking, when he asked if "I was telling him no", then when I said I was, he smiled and said, "Thanks kid, I needed to hear that.", and then walked off!"

"He loves you."

My head whips around "What?" I ask.

"He loves you, Bob, he loves you...and so do I, you're like our baby sister, we love you, the guys really like you too...you're...what's that term the greasers use?...Oh yeah, you're our "Pet" if you will." He uses the air quotes.

I open and close my mouth a few times, "Why?" I ask.

"Because you're plain."

I sent him an affronted look, he realizes what he said and his eyes go wide.

"Sorry sorry! Wrong choice of words! Um, not plain...natural? No...Real! that's it! You're real. You're a real human being, you're not phony, you dig?"

I nod.

"We can be ourselves around you and you don't judge us, you're honest but not _too_ honest, and most importantly you set the limits, give us something to stand on. That's all we want really."

I keep silent, he continues.

"That's actually the biggest reason Bob loves you. You tell him no, lay down the law, give him something solid to stand on...You know, his parents spoil him rotten, I mean, most parents would be proud of a kid like that; Good-lookin' and smart and everything, but they give into him all the time. He kept trying to make someone, _anyone_ say 'no', and no one ever did...'till you came along, and he said it was one of the best things that happened to him."

I look at my lap, silent for a moment, "I never knew that." I say quietly. So this is what drives Bob to do these stupid things, he wants someone to tell him no... _that's_ why he was so happy I yelled at him! This explains _so much_.

"Because he never told anyone," Randy says, "He doesn't want anyone to think he's complaining, because all-in-all his life is perfect, and he doesn't want anyone to think he's this snobby, spoiled brat who's never really happy with what he's got...which is why this stays between the three of us. Savvy?"

I nod again.

"Now, would you like me to take you home?" He asks.

"Yeah, sure." I say.

Randy nods and starts the car before we pull out of the parking lot.

"You know Randy," I say after a minute, "Those boys we were walking with weren't trying to pick us up or anythin', they were offering us a ride home, and they're really nice boys, they really are. Especially that one, I don't know if you know him or not, his name's Ponyboy Curtis."

Randy kind of chuckles, "Kinda hard to overlook that name...and isn't he on the track team?"

"Yeah," I say, looking out the window again, "I have English with him, he's one of my friends. He loves to read and watch sunsets. He's very smart, and nice...you oughta get to now him sometime, I think you'd really get along." I say, looking out the window dreamily.

I hear Randy chuckle slightly, "I'll put that on my to do list."

After a few minutes we make it to my house, I open the door and get out, but before I close the door I turn back to Randy.

"You know, Randy, I don't know if you realized this, but you're a real human being too, Cherry said that you and the other "socs" were supposed to be cool to the point of not feelin' anything, but you don't, you feel things like any other human being, you and Bob both...just thought I'd let you know."

He looks at me, I can see something in his eyes, but I can't really read it, then he smiles, "Thanks, Bow."

"No problem," I say, "Bye." I shut the door and make my way to my house.

When I walk inside, the girls are in the living room, they all look up at me as I enter, "Hey Rainbow," Straight A says, "What did Randy want to talk to you about?"

"Yeah," Rew says skeptically, "What did he want?"

I send her a slight glare, "He needed to talk to someone, ya know, like most human beings need to sometimes." I say, before I head to my room.


	10. I hate you, I love you

**AN: Hi everyone, sorry for the long delay, there's a lot going on in my world right now, and for a while I didn't have internet access :/**

I wake up to the sun shining right in my face. I groan and turn over but it's too late to get back to sleep. I groan before I sit up and hop off my bed.

I look over at Rainbow, she's still asleep, and since it's a Saturday, she probably won't wake up until, oh, I don't know, _noon_.

I shake my head before I head toward the door and open it, instantly the smell of food cooking hits my nostrils, Pepper's up, she's usually the first one awake.

I walk into the kitchen where Pepper, Hermann, and surprisingly, Straight A are. "Hey Straight A," I say, plopping in a chair, "What're you doin' here so early?"

She sighs, "The old man was acting up again." She says and I roll my eyes, "What happened this time?" I ask.

She holds out her hand, there's blue nail polish on her nails "Yeah, my mom sent me a bottle, said it would go with my eyes, so I put it on, but the old man saw and flipped his lid."

I swear, if that old man doesn't let up on her, one of these days, I'm gonna pound him, and it's gonna feel _so good_.

"Morning all!" I hear suddenly.

"Mornin' Peach." I say, not turning around.

She slides into the chair that's next to Straight A, "Hey there, Straight A, what'cha doin' here so early?"

As Straight A repeats the story for Peach, I get up and get myself a cup of coffee, I like coffee, makes me feel mature.

"Ugh, that's so stupid, I don't see what's so scandalous about wearin' nail polish!" Peach exclaims as I sit back down in my seat.

"You know the old man, he went nuts after he and mom got a divorce." Straight A explains, looking at her nails.

"It's complete crap," I say, taking a sip of my coffee, (which _isn't_ crap) "Aren't you old enough to choose what parent you wanna live with anyways?"

"I guess so...If I knew where in the world my mom was." Straight A sighs and rests her chin on her hand, her way of saying she doesn't wants to talk about it anymore.

After a few minutes, breakfast is made and we're all eating when I hear Pepper, "Morning Hon." I turn around and see Rainbow walk into the kitchen, "Well look who decided to join us." I say teasingly. She sends me a slight glare and I laugh, she's fun to tease.

* * *

After breakfast, I head to the bathroom to take a quick shower, I want to go into town later.

After I get out and blow dry my hair, I head into my room to get dressed. Rainbow's still eating because she got up later, so I have the room to myself for a few minutes.

After I braid my hair and pull it over my shoulder, I pull on some jeans, a wife beater, and some boots before I grab my make up and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and do my make up.

After I do my morning rituals, dodging Pepper because she's getting ready for work, I decide that I want to head into town. I head to Peach and Hermann's room, to see if they want to go, they're both on their beds, Hermann reading a magazine, Peach just lying there.

"Hey, you two want to head into town with me?" I ask.

Hermann doesn't look up from her magazine, "Sorry Rew, but...I have my sights set on this guy who is...muy muy lindo (Very very cute)...and I'm trying to figure out how to get his attention." I roll my eyes, she's such a romantic.

"I feel lazy today." Peach says, "I'm just gonna take it easy and chill."

"Alright." I say, walking to Tom's room, where both Tom and Straight A are. Straight A has a bed here for when she wants to spend the night, which is pretty often. Tom's in her closet while Straight A is sitting on the side of her bed.

"Hey Tom, Straight A, wanna head to town with me?"

"I'd like to, but I'm gonna head to the bowling alley with my friends." Tom says, pulling out a bowling glove.

"I would, but the old man is mad enough as it is, I don't wanna make him any angrier."

I hate her dad so much. "Alright."

I head into me and Rainbow's room, where she's lying on her bed, reading her book, "Hey Bow, I'm headin' into town, wanna come?"

"Sorry, I wanna read my book."

"Aw come on Bow."

"No, I got this book weeks ago and I'm not even past the third chapter, so many things have been goin' on!"

"Alright, alright, suit yourself."

I groan, guess I'm going alone. I grab my leather jacket, a pack of Kools, a lighter, my wallet, and switchblade.

I put my lighter, Kools, and wallet in the pockets of my jacket, and my switchblade in the back pocket of my jeans.

I'm very proud of my switch, it's eight-inches and has a pearl handle, I didn't get it by stealing it or anything, I may be tough, and mean sometimes, but I'm pretty law abiding, I bought it when I was sixteen.

I head to the front door and look over my shoulder. "I'm heading out!" I call.

I hear a serenade of "Good byes" and "I love yous", I just call, "Right back at ya!" and walk outside.

It's not that I don't love my sisters, I do, hell I actually told Rainbow "I love you" a few weeks ago after her encounter with Joey, that was one of the only times I've said "I love you" to anyone. It's just that it sounds trite to me, or maybe even sappy.

* * *

As I walk down the sidewalk that leads into town, I pull out a cigarette and light it, I should stop smoking, but I'm pretty much addicted, Rainbow's called me a "weed fiend" a few times.

I stop at the corner and think about where I want to go.

I kind of want to go to the record store to see if they have any 45s by Elvis or The Rolling Stones, I'm a fan of both of them. Or I could go get some more eye make-up, I trowel that stuff on, but hey, it's the style. Then again...I can't buy too much, my birthday's coming up in a few weeks. Hell I'll just browse.

I look both ways before I jog across the street to the other sidewalk and make my way to the record store.

I crush my cigarette under my heel before I walk inside, the store doesn't have many people in it today. I walk over to a shelf and begin to look through the records.

Let's see...Jailhouse Rock, I have that...Blue Moon, Mystery Train...The Beatles, ew...Hey, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rainbow likes him… Ooh! Satisfaction…Hmm, Not many Rolling Stones songs today.

This goes on for about half an hour before I leave without buying anything.

After that I head down to the drugstore, I've decided that I'm going to get my make up, along with a soda.

After I buy my make-up and soda, I walk back outside and lean against the wall by the entrance before I take a swig of pop.

I suddenly hear a voice, "Well, well, wadda ya, know."

Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me!

I stop drinking my soda and look over with a glare, sure enough, it's Dallas Winston, in the flesh.

"Wadda ya want, Winston?" I ask sharply.

"Winston?" Dallas asks, feigning confusion, "What happened to Dally?"

"Last Friday happened!" I snap, standing up straight.

Now he genuinely looks confused, "What?" he asks.

I groan in frustration, "I had promised my sister that I would come get her after the movies were over, but then _you_ came along and followed me all over the state, and distracted me!" I know my reasoning isn't very good, but I'm just really mad, something about this guy drives me crazy!

Dallas looks at me nonchalantly, "Baby, you're the one who let me follow you, you can't pin this all on me."

I kind of snarl. "No," I say through gritted teeth, "But, you did sit behind her at the drive in, and she told me about the dirty stuff you said." I'm half lying, Rainbow only said that he talked dirty, she didn't tell me what exactly.

"So one of those little ladies was your sister?" he asks, "Hmm…I'm taking a wild guess that it was the little blonde."

I can't help but draw back slightly, "How the hell…?" I ask.

"Well," He starts, placing a hand on his chin to look pensive, "I sat behind three chicks at the drive in, two of which I knew were socs, and even though the little blonde was dressed nice, I could tell she wasn't a soc."

"Well, you're right." I admit bitterly, before I take another drink of my Coke.

"So anyway, where're you headed?" He asks out of the blue.

I continue to drink my soda, but I point in the direction of the park, I was planning on going there for a smoke before I headed to lunch, then home.

I drain the rest of my soda and toss the empty bottle in the trash, "Well, I'd say it was nice talkin' to ya, but I'd be lyin'." I say, starting to walk down the sidewalk.

As I'm walking, I get a feeling of Deja Vu down my back, I look over my shoulder and see Dallas following me, like he did last Friday. I glare, "You followin' me?" I ask, annoyed.

"Yeah." Dallas says simply.

"Are you gonna stop?"

I see him stop, but only for a moment, "No...I don't think I ever will."

I can't help it, I grin and stop, allowing him to catch up to me. When he reaches me, he looks at me with a bit of a side smirk, "I knew you'd warm up to me eventually." he says.

I stop smiling, "Whatever, I got nothing better to do anyway."

* * *

Dallas and I eventually reach the park and we walk over to the fountain to sit and have a smoke.

"Hey Winston," I say after a drag on my cigarette, "Why do you follow me all over the place?"

"Depends," he says, "Why do you let me?"

"I don't let you!" I snap.

He takes a drag of his cigarette, "I don't remember everything about last Friday, but I do remember that you said that you could kick my ass all over the street if you wanted."

"Yeah, I could!" I snap.

"Yet you didn't, you had every chance to kick my ass, yet you didn't, and why do you think that is..."

"Because I didn't want to get hauled in!" I snarl. I turn away from him and close my eyes before taking a drag of my cigarette.

I sit there for a minute, before I hear Dallas again, "Fiery one aren'tcha? Well, that's just the way I like 'em."

Before I can process this, I feel his arm wrap around my shoulders. My eyes open slowly, "You have two options," I say, not looking at him, "You can either move your hand, or you can loose it."

He doesn't move his hand, "I noticed you have a blade in your pocket, you gonna use that?" he asks

I look at him and smirk, "Yup, so you better move your hand or else."

He chuckles and moves his hand, even though I know he isn't scared. Then he takes another drag of his cigarette, "Mind showin' it to me, baby?"

I sigh, put my cigarette between my lips, reach into my back pocket and pull out my blade. When he sees the pearl handle, he grins. I press the button and the blade pops out, showing how long the knife is in a whole.

"Gotta admit, that's a tuff blade, baby." he says with a smirk.

"Yep, I got it when I was sixteen." I say proudly, putting the blade back in the handle and putting it back in my pocket.

After that, we just sit there talking, and...it's actually quite nice, when he's not being an ass that is, but, eventually, I tell him I better get home. My first thought was inviting him to get lunch with me...but dear god, can you imagine how that would look?

"You know somethin' Dally." I say, making him grin, "You're not as vile as I thought you were."

"Same goes for you-...You know somethin, I never learned your name."

"Oh, shit...well, my name's Rew."

"Rew?" he asks.

"It's a nickname, but I'm not telling you my real name, you have to earn it." I say matter-o-factly.

"Well then, Rew, I was wondering if you'd like to head to the _Dingo_ and get a Coke at some point."

I look at him, "You don't give up do you?" I ask.

"...Was that a yes?"

My eyes look up, making it look like I was thinking, "...no." I say simply, turning and walking away.

"Well, was that a no?" he calls after me.

I laugh, "No!" I call over my shoulder. Man, Rainbow isn't going to believe this!


	11. Study Dates and Coffee Breaks

**AN: Hello everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and a happy new year! :)**

"Hey, Rainbow, are you doing anything this Saturday?…No that wouldn't work...Uh...Hi Rainbow, I was wondering if...no, no, no!"

I groan and collapse onto my bed, exasperated. I've been thinking, and I realize that Rainbow and I have known each other for a while and we seem to like each other, so I'm trying to think of a way to ask her out. It's proving to be easier said than done, because Rainbow has this effect on me that no other girls have. I'm also supposed to be studying for a test that's next week, but Rainbow's taking up so much of my mind that I can't.

I'm in the middle of a pretty flirtatious practice question when the door to my room opens and Soda walks in. He looks at me with a bemused expression, "What'cha doin' Pony?" he asks, setting his DX cap on the dresser.

"I'm trying to...Hey, Soda, I need some advice." I say. Soda's really good with girls, maybe he can help me, he walks over and sits next to me on the bed, "Sure, what's up Pony?" he asks.

I bite my lip for a second, "Well, I-...you see...there's this girl that I really like, and I'm trying to think of a way to ask her on a date."

Soda looks at me and grins, "Ah, I see. Who is this girl?" he asks.

"She's a girl in my class, her name is Rainbow Swan, I don't think I told you about her, she's the girl I had that English assignment with..."

Soda thinks for a minute, "Yeah...I think I remember you saying something about her."

I just nod and Soda continues, "Well, I think Darry might frown on you going on a 'for real' date, but maybe...Ponyboy do you have any assignments or anything?" he asks suddenly.

That catches me off guard, "Huh...Uh, yeah, I have a history test next week...Why?" I ask.

"I was thinking you could ask her on a 'Study date'...You know, just the two of you spending time together, yet it ain't a 'real date'." Soda explains.

I think about it for a moment, "Yeah," I say, grinning, "That's a great idea Soda, thank you!"

He grins back at me, "Anything for my kid brother." he says, "But, you might wanna ask Darry, just to be safe."

"Alright." I say.

* * *

The next day, after school, I wait for Rainbow outside the school's entrance, Soda also told me to do it at a time when she could think and not be surrounded by people, like she is in class or the passing period. I had asked Darry if I could go to the library with Rainbow so I could study and he said it was alright.

She walks out of the doors after a minute, holding her books against her chest, "Hey, Rainbow!" I call.

She looks around, confused before she sees me and smiles as she walks over to me "Hi Ponyboy," She says with a small smile, "How are you?"

"I'm okay," I say, "How are you?"

"I'm alright." She says with a small shrug.

"Hey, Rainbow, I wanted to ask you something." I say slowly. I'm getting nervous.

She just looks at me, "What is it?" she asks.

"Well...You know about that history test on Monday?"

Rainbow nods, "Yeah, I haven't started studying yet, though, I probably should."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." I say. She looks at me and raises an eyebrow slightly, "Okay, what is it?" she asks.

"Well...I was wondering if you would like to go to the library this Saturday and, maybe study together?" I look at her and I stop breathing, anxious for her answer. She blinks and looks around for a moment before she smiles at me, "I'd like that," she says.

I smile back, I can feel my ears turning red, "Great," I say, "What time do you wanna meet up?"

"Hmm...Is one o'clock too early?" she asks.

"No it's fine." I say.

"Great!" She says, "I'll see you then!" she smiles at me again before she turns and walks toward two other girls who I assume are her sisters, "Bye!" I call after her.

* * *

When Saturday rolls around, I wake up early and quickly eat breakfast before I take a shower and brush my teeth. I want to look good for my study session with Ponyboy. It's weird, I don't think this is a date, yet I'm treating it as if it was one.

After that I rush into my room to get dressed. Rew's in there but she looks away as I get dressed. "What's with the sudden need to doll yourself up, Bow?" she asks.

"Ponyboy and I are having a study session," I say, putting on some lip gloss, "And I want to look good."

"Why do you suddenly want to look good? You didn't do this when you had that English assignment." she says, raising an eyebrow. "Because we didn't know each other that well." I say. Forgoing the fact that I went all out when I wanted him to notice me.

"Okay...anyway, who's gonna take you? Pepper has work."

"Hermann's taking me." I say. I had told her about my study session with Ponyboy and I asked her if she would like to drive me, saying that she might run in to Darry. She agreed excitedly.

"I see." she says, "Well, try not to forget anything...again."

I look at her, "I didn't forget anything." I say.

"Yeah you did. You forget it every day."

I realize what's she's talking about and blush, "No one'll notice!" I say. "No one ever does!"

Rew shrugs, "Alright, if you're sure."

* * *

I walk into the library and sit down at the nearest table, waiting for Rainbow. Unlike the last time, I woke up early and had enough time to take a shower and get dressed before I came.

I pull my book from my bag and start to read as I wait for Rainbow, I don't have to wait for too long, because after a few minutes I look up and see her walking toward me, holding her books against her chest. She's wearing a pair of cut off white shorts, an oversize light green shirt, and sandals.

"Hi Rainbow." I say, smiling.

She smiles back at me and sits down, "Hi Ponyboy, how are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?"

"I'm good."

"So," I say, "Where should we start?"

* * *

After a little while, Hermann drives to the library to pick up Rainbow. She parks by the sidewalk near the front of the library and looks at the entrance, Rainbow isn't there yet, so Hermann decides to freshen up a little bit.

As Hermann's redoing her lipstick, she notices someone walking up to the entrance from the corner of her eye, looking up, she nearly drops her lipstick when she sees that it's Darry.

Putting her make-up back in her purse, she quickly gets out of her car and makes her way to the entrance at a quick pace until she gets closer to Darry, who's waiting by the door, like a parent picking up his little kid after school.

"Hola!" she says happily, "You must be Ponyboy's brother."

Darry jumps slightly and looks over at Hermann, "Uh, yes, I'm Darrel."

"It's nice to meet you," Hermann says, holding out her hand, "Me amo Hermann, I'm Rainbow's sister."

Darry takes her hand and shakes it, "It's nice to meet you too Hermann...You're Rainbow's sister?"

"Not by blood, but yes." Hermann says, nodding slightly.

Darry doesn't say anything, he just looks around for a moment before looking at his watch, "I told that kid I would be here by five, I don't know what's keeping him." he says sternly.

Hermann kind of draws back, slightly shocked at how strict and stern Darry sounds, but before she can say anything, Ponyboy and Rainbow walk out of the library, Ponyboy smiling, and Rainbow giggling like she had just been told a cute joke.

Hermann smiles, she loves seeing Rainbow so happy, but then she looks at Darry from the corner of her eye, ' _I hope he doesn't ruin this for her_ , _being so strict_.' she thinks.

Darry just looks at Hermann, "Well, it was nice meeting you." he turns back to Pony, "Come on Ponyboy."

Hermann's eyebrows raise, Rainbow kind of draws back at looks up at Darry, and Ponyboy kind of pouts, "Well, I'll see you later Rainbow, bye."

"Bye." Rainbow says as Ponyboy and Darry walk toward their truck.

Rainbow walks over next to Hermann and watches Ponyboy and Darry leave, "Goodness," Hermann says, "I didn't realize he was so stern."

Rainbow looks at her and kind of bites her lip, "Uh, Hermann...I told you about their parents, right?" she asks.

"No, I don't think so, why?"

"Hermann, they were killed in an auto wreck, Darry has to take care of everything now." Rainbow says.

Herman draws back slightly, "Oh..." she says, "But...I mean that's horrible and I feel sorry for them, but, Pepper isn't that strict, and she has to take care of all of us."

"Her parents weren't killed." Rainbow says.

Hermann doesn't say anything else, the two of them just head to the car.

* * *

On the ride home, Hermann notices that Rainbow is holding a small slip of paper. Waiting until they stop at a stoplight, Hermann looks down at the paper and sees a series of numbers with dashes in between them.

"What'cha got there, Rainbow?" she asks, smirking slightly.

Rainbow looks at her and her cheeks turn a bright pink, but then she smiles, "Ponyboy and I exchanged numbers." She says.

Hermann's smile nearly reached her ears, "That's great!" She says, "Are you going to call him?"

Rainbow's face turns a darker shade of pink, "I-I don't know...Probably not."

Truth be told, Rainbow would like nothing more than to call Ponyboy the minute she gets home, but, she doesn't want to appear desperate or over-excited.

Hermann just nods and they continue their way home when the stoplight turns green.

* * *

A while later, I'm sitting in the living room, watching TV with the others, when all of a sudden, the phone in the kitchen rings.

My head snaps over and I fly up from my spot on the couch, "Don't answer it I got it!" I say, running to the phone.

I pick up the phone, and calmly say, "Hello?"

"Hi Rainbow."

My smile widens, "Hi Ponyboy, how are you?" I ask, twirling the phone cord between my fingers. I can hear my sisters say something from the living room but I ignore them.

"I'm alright. Hey, I'm sorry about Darry, he had a long day at work and was kinda tired." he says apologetically.

"It's alright." I say, smiling slightly.

"Rainbow, I was calling to to see if you would like to meet up again tomorrow, you know, to make sure we have everything down."

"Hmm," I think for a moment, this unit isn't extremely hard and we pretty much understood everything today...but I'm not missing a chance to hang out with Ponyboy again, "Sure, that'd be nice, I'll ask my sister to take me...who's bringing you?" I ask, for Hermann's sake.

"Uh, Two-Bit, Darry has some errands to run." Pony says, sounding slightly confused.

"Oh, okay, I was just curious. Well, I'll see you tomorrow." I say.

"Alright, bye."

I hang up the phone and go into Hermann's room, "Hermann, I'm going back to the library, but Darry isn't taking Pony, he has some errands to run." I say. Gosh I feel like a spy or something.

Hermann looks slightly disappointed, "Oh, alright Rainbow, would you like me to take you? Pepper wants me to run into town anyway."

"Sure, thanks Hermann."

* * *

After Hermann drops Rainbow off at the library, she drives toward the store so she can get the bread Pepper asked for.

Once she gets there, she gets out of her car and makes her way inside, since they only need one thing, she doesn't bother getting a cart.

She walks through the store until she reaches the bread isle, and when she turns in to it, she stops for a moment.

It's Darry.

She smiles and kind of fluffs her hair before walking over to him, "Fancy meeting you here." She says happily, startling Darry yet again.

"Oh, hello Hermann, it's nice to see you again." he says.

"It's nice to see you too, how have you been?" Hermann asks, trying to make conversation.

"I'm alright I suppose. Ponyboy wanted to go back to the library today, but I couldn't drive him because I had some errands to run, this being one of them." he says.

"Me too, Pepper wanted me to get some bread, we were running low because all us eat so much toast and sandwiches." Hermann says with a chuckle.

Darry just sighs, "Yeah, I have to stock up on food often, seeing that Soda, Pony and I eat like horses, and it doesn't help that Two-Bit likes to bum around and eat our cake."

Hermann has to kind of force her grin as she looks Darry over, ' _He would be so handsome if he wasn't so stern_.' she thinks, ' _He seems too serious._.. _maybe I can help him be more...free_.'

"Uh, Darrel, I was going to go get a cup of coffee after I got my bread, would you like to join me?" she asks.

Darry looks a little unsure, and he has to think it over in his head for a moment, "Um...I don't see why not." he says.

Hermann smiles, "Fantastico!" she says.

* * *

After Darry and Hermann purchase their groceries, they both leave the store and drive to the nearest coffee shop.

After they get their coffee, they find some seats and sit down, Hermann immediately pouring cream and sugar into hers while Darry drinks his without adding anything.

Hermann watches him as she drinks her own coffee, "Darrel, how old are you?" she asks.

"Twenty." Darry says simply.

Hermann's eyes widen slightly, ' _Twenty? I thought he was older_!' she thinks.

"How old are you?" Darry asks.

"Oh, diez y nueve, nineteen." Hermann says, nodding slightly.

"Ah." Darry says, taking another drink of coffee.

"So um, Darry, what do you do for fun?" she asks.

Darry sets his cup down, "Hmm, truth be told, I don't really have time for fun anymore. Ever since my folks died, I've had to work multiple jobs and help Ponyboy with school, and-" Darry stops when he sees Hermann's expression.

' _My god_ , _this poor man, how does he live like that_?' she thinks.

"What's the matter?" Darry asks, snapping Hermann out of her thoughts.

"Oh, it's nothing...um, when are your days off?" she asks.

Darry raises an eyebrow at the question, but thinks it over in his head for a moment, "Um, I don't really have a set date, why?"

"Oh, no reason, I was just curious." Hermann says, blowing it off with a smile.

After that, the two continue to drink their coffee, ' _This is unacceptable_ ,' Hermann thinks, ' _He's going to get out and have fun if it's the last thing I do_!'


	12. Nothing Gold Can Stay

**AN: I've been wanting to post this chapter for the longest time! :3**

It's been about a week since Rainbow and I exchanged phone numbers, and we've been on the phone a lot. We've also been hanging out more, and when we're not hanging out, we're on the phone.

Today, we're hanging out at the drugstore a little after school, talking about the people in our classes.

"You know Brea Chase?" Rainbow asks, taking a drink of her 7-Up, "The girl in our English class?"

I think for a moment, "The one with red hair, brown eyes, and a lot of freckles?" I ask.

She nods.

"Oh I don't like her," I say, frowning slightly, "She thinks she knows everything, do you remember when she mispronounced 'epitome'?"

She lets out a laugh, " _Oh yeah_...Did you hear me correct her?"

I laugh and nod, "Yup, that was one of the first times I heard you talk in that class, you're so quiet."

"So are you!" She points out.

I smile and shrug a little, "True."

After a few minutes, I look up at the clock, "Oh, Rainbow, I better get home, Darry's gonna be mad."

She nods, "Alright, I better get home too, I'll see you later."

"Bye." I say before turning to walk home.

"Bye."

* * *

A little while later, I'm sitting on my bed reading a book, when the phone rings, I set my book down, "I've got it!" I call.

I pick up the phone and say, "Hello?"

"Hiya Pony!"

I smile, "Hi Rainbow, how are you?" I ask, leaning against the wall.

"I'm alright. Hey, Ponyboy, listen...I want to show you something, but I don't think you know where I live...do you?" she asks.

It's at this time that I realize I don't, I never asked where she lives, "Uh, no."

"Oh, okay then..." she says, "Well, let me tell you the address."

"Hold on hold on!" I say hastily, "Let me get some paper and a pen so I can write it down."

"Alright." she says.

I quickly grab a scrap of paper and a pencil that are nearby, "Okay, I've got them."

She tells me her address and I write it down, "I've never been to that neighborhood before," I say after she finishes telling me the address. "It sounds kind of close to the soc-y side of town."

"It's within walking distance from me yes, but they don't come over here often." She explains, "So, you don't have to worry about getting jumped or anything. Do you think you could come by tomorrow afternoon?"

"Alright, thanks Rainbow, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye."

* * *

"Bye." I say, hanging up the phone.

The next day, I head over to Rainbow's neighborhood, looking at the address she gave me, it's kind of far from where I live, but I can walk to get there.

As I walk into Rainbow's neighborhood, I look around, the houses are better than the houses in my neighborhood, but they're not huge and fancy like the socs' houses, they're definitely middle class.

I finally reach Rainbow's house, it's a cute little house, I wonder how seven girls fit in there...

"Ponyboy!"

I snap out of my thoughts and look up at the house to see Rainbow rush from the porch, a huge smile on her face.

I smile also, "Hi Rainbow, what did you want to show me?"

"Follow me." she says.

Rainbow leads me to the back of her house and gestures, "This is what I wanted to show you." she says.

I look at the field behind her house, a small field, but a field. In some places it's flat, and in some there are hills, and there's lots of plants and foliage.

"Wow," I say, looking around, "This is pretty, do you come out here often?"

"Sometimes," She says, "I haven't had as much time to since school started, but when I do I run around and kinda play, but most of the time I just go over to that tree to read," she says, pointing to a big tree in the distance.

She looks at me from the corner of her eye and smirks, "I'll race ya to that tree!" she says playfully.

I laugh, "Alright, if you're sur-" she takes off, "Hey! Come back, that's cheating!" I say, racing after her. I can hear her laughing, I start to laugh too.

We reach the tree in a tie, then we lean against it, "That was fun." I say through my panting.

"Sure was." Rainbow huffs.

After that, we sit down at the base of the tree to catch our breath, "Hey, Rainbow," I say after a minute, "Do you do anything else out here?"

"Well..." She says, leaning back against the tree, "When I was younger I used to climb this tree...and I also practice my gymnastics."

"Gymnastics?" I ask, sitting up.

"Yeah, my sister Hermann was the cheer captain in high school, so she knew a lot of gymnastics routines, and my oldest sister, Pepper, makes us exercise often so we can stay healthy, and my other sister Tom knows how to play every sport known to man, so with the three combined, all of us are pretty good at gymnastics or other sports." she explains.

"That's kinda what happened with my gang, we're good at gymnastics too, because Darry took the course and spent a whole summer teaching us what he learned." I say.

Rainbow smiles at me and stands up, "Well then...show me what ya got." she says.

I grin and stand up also. I kind of plant my feet firmly on the ground, and then let out a happy whoop before I do a no hands cartwheel, hit the ground and then roll to my feet. I hear clapping and turn to face Rainbow, who's smiling and clapping her hands, "That was really good." she says.

"Let's see what you got." I say, taking a small step back.

"Alright, let's see..." she says, thinking for a moment, "Oh I know," she says. She takes a small step back before she does multiple front flips and stops right in front of me, "How was that?" she asks.

"That was really good." I say, grinning.

After that we show off what movements we know, and I notice that Rainbow's movements are more graceful and fluid than mine are.

"You look really graceful when you do that." I say to her after she does some more flips.

"Thanks." She says, "Hermann says it's because I dance so much."

"You like to dance?" I ask.

"Yeah, I love to dance. I'm constantly going to those dances at the dance hall...and of course you know I also like to sing." she blushes, and I remember the time I heard her sing, it was after the incident with Bob and Randy.

"Yeah, Darry taught us those moves because he said it could help in a fight, so I guess that's why my movements are more rugged than yours." I say with a shrug.

"Most likely...Peach made a smart remark that girls are better at gymnastics because 'we have things that boys don't'," as she says this she kind of puffs her chest out and laughs, I laugh also, but feel myself blush.

* * *

We continue doing gymnastic routines before I tell I her I kind of want to climb the tree, she looks hesitant, but agrees.

"Don't you want to climb higher Rainbow?" I ask, looking down from the branch I'm sitting on.

"Uh, no, I'm cool being here." She says.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

"Yeah I'm fine, it's just that I haven't been in a tree in a while, I'm kinda worried I'll fall or somethin'."

I climb over and sit down next to her, "It's alright, do you wanna do something else? I don't mind." I say.

"Sure." she says.

I nod and climb out of the tree and turn around, only Rainbow isn't climbing down behind me, "Rainbow?" I ask, walking forward a bit. I look up in the tree...But she's gone.

I turn back around, thinking she got down from another side, "Rainbow? Where'd you go?"

"RAAAAHH!"

"AAAHHH!" I yell as Rainbow comes out of absolutely nowhere and tackles me, causing the two of us to go rolling down the hill, laughing. Once we reach the bottom, Rainbow rolls off me, and we both lie there in the grass laughing.

"You're crazy!" I say.

"You're not too sane yourself." Rainbow says with a smile.

I laugh and look at her, she looks so pretty with her hair splayed out all over the grass.

She suddenly looks past my head, looking like she's deep in thought, "Hey, Ponyboy." she says, sitting up, "You see that hill over there?"

I sit up and look where she's pointing, "Yeah." I say.

"I want you to meet me there tomorrow, before dusk, there's something else I have to show you."

"Can't you show me now?" I ask, confused.

"Uh, no...I want to show you tomorrow." She seems to be getting a little nervous. "Well," I say, "Alright."

We lie there for a few minutes before I decide it's time for me to get home, "I'll see you tomorrow Rainbow." I say.

"Alright, bye."

"Bye."

* * *

For the rest of the evening, and most of the next day, I'm thinking about what Rainbow wants to show me, she seemed nervous and unusually shy when telling me about it. I wonder what's going on...

"Darry, I'm going out for a little while!" I call as I walk out the door.

"Alright, you be back before dinner!"

"I will."

I walk back to Rainbow's neighborhood, and look for her house, once I find it, I make my way behind it and walk toward the field.

"Which hill was it again?" I ask myself, looking around, "Oh yeah!" I say, quickly walking toward it.

I rush up the hill where Rainbow said to meet her. I have to push through a lot of bushes and branches, but I finally reach a clearing...and I see Rainbow. She's standing on the very edge, the wind blowing her hair and skirt softly.

"Hi Rainbow." I say, causing her to turn around. She smiles, "Hi Ponyboy." she says softly.

I walk over and stand next to her, "What did you want to see me for?" I ask.

"Look."

I follow her gaze, and come face to face with the best view of a sunset I've ever seen, "Wow." I whisper.

"This is the view of the sunset _I_ have." She explains.

"It's beautiful." I say, looking at her, "You sure are lucky."

She looks over at me and smiles. With her hair flowing softly, and the sun reflecting off her golden hair and skin, she looks like an absolute _goddess_.

I smile back at her and turn to face the sunset again. After a moment, I take a risk and let my hand slowly drift over and take hers gently.

She pulls away, but only for a moment, it was just so she could shift her hand to hold mine back. We both look at each other and smile, it feels right, us holding hands, it just feels right.

We turn back to the sunset, "You know Ponyboy..." Rainbow says after a minute, "There are times where I wish the sky could stay like this...I don't have anything against the blue...but I like this so much more..."

"Nothing gold can stay." I say, remembering a poem I read.

I see her turn to me, "Yes…yes, exactly!" she says. I continue...

"Nature's first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold,

Her early leaf's a flower..."

Rainbow cuts in,

"But only so an hour..."

We turn to face each other, our other hands connecting, before we recite the rest of the poem together.

"Then leaf subsides to leaf,

So Eden sank to grief

So dawn goes down to day..."

We look into each others eyes, she takes a small step closer to me, closing the gap between us.

"Nothing gold can stay."

We look in each other's eyes for what feels like an eternity, then Rainbow closes her eyes and slowly leans in, I do the same. I feel her lips press against mine, they're soft and sweet.

She deepens the kiss and I let her. I'm in love with her, no doubt about it now, I love her and nothing can change that now!

I liked her from the start. I liked our talks; our talks about sunsets and books and writing...about family and friends. I like that we have so much in common. I love the fact that she understands everything I say and I understand her! We have a bond, a bond that's deeper than the one I have with Soda, deeper than the one I have with Johnny!

We drop hands, I wrap my arms around her waist and I feel one of her arms wrap around my neck and I feel her run her fingers through my hair. It's the best feeling in the world.

We separate after a minute and lean our foreheads together, we're both panting lightly.

When I open my eyes, Rainbow smiles at me and asks…

"Who says?"

* * *

For the rest of the evening I'm sort if in a...a zone, I guess. All I know is that I feel like I'm high.

First of all, I get home a little late and Darry kind of snaps at me, but for some reason it doesn't upset me like usual, I just apologize and say something kind of over the top, causing everyone to look at me oddly as I smile and leave the room.

Then, while I'm doing my homework, my mind drifts back to Rainbow, and when I look back at my paper I realize I wrote on the table. I quickly clean it off before Darry can see.

A while later, while I'm lying in bed, I sigh...Maybe I should tell Soda about the kiss...I have to tell _someone_.

"Hey Soda." I say.

"Yeah?" He says.

I don't really know where to start, so I just say "...I'm in love with Rainbow."

He chuckles and kind of props himself up on his elbow, "What brought this on?" he asks.

"We kissed earlier." I say, feeling my face go hot.

"Oh-ho, so _that's_ why you seemed so happy all evening!" Soda says with an ear to ear grin, "What was it like?"

"...It was a religious experience." I say into my pillow.

Soda just laughs.

"I mean it Soda, it was amazing, it was perfect, _she's_ perfect." I sigh in a dreamy manner, causing Soda to chuckle again.

"Well, I'd love to hear more about your perfect kiss, but I've got work and you've got school, so we better get to sleep now."

"Alright, night Soda."

"Night Pony."

After that there's silence. I sigh, the only thing I can think of is Rainbow, and the kiss. I meant everything I said, about the kiss being a religious experience and me being in love with Rainbow.

'... _I'm gonna marry her someday_.' I think, ' _Not anytime soon though_... _maybe when we finish college or something_.'

Marry Rainbow...I smile at the thought, and slowly drift to sleep.

 **AN: It's about time, right? XD**


End file.
